


Guardian of Memories

by MoonClipper



Series: The Myth of her Wings [1]
Category: Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, Rise of the Guardians (2012), The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Anxiety, Character Death, Depression, Friendship, Gen, He's not ok you guys, Hurt/Comfort, Link gets a friend, Loneliness, Past Character Death, Platonic Relationships, Sad Toohtiana, Why can't I write cheerful things?, no beta we die like men, poor Link
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25587427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonClipper/pseuds/MoonClipper
Summary: Tooth has been alone for centuries. But she is never wavered in her duty with children, nor has she ever given up on fighting for what it's right.When she saves a familiar blond young man from an ambush of monkeys, Tooth just knows; she knows! This kid is the key to the survival of the world!Too bad no one told her he would come back without his memories from one hundred years ago.What is Tooth to do?
Relationships: Toothiana & Link (Legend of Zelda), Toothiana & Revali (Legend of Zelda)
Series: The Myth of her Wings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1854559
Kudos: 13





	1. You’ll be fine. I Promise.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!  
> I must say I never thought I would write something with Tooth and Link on it. To be honest, I wanted my first crossover of these two series to be Tooth and Revali centric. But that one will take more time to complete, sadly.  
> This fic came to me suddenly the other day and I just had to write or lose it forever. I hope you can forgive any major mistakes, for I'm doing the writing and editing all by myself.  
> Anyway! Chapters may be short for this one but It's the only way I thought it worked. I don't want to overwhelm you with too many details (more so if you don't know one of these two worlds pretty well).  
> Whatever, let's move on!

Link cursed for the umpteenth time that day. He had gone out and about on a personal quest for Hearty Durians, knowing fully well how potent they made his meals thus far in healing him when he ate them. And him (of course) got too caught up on this sole goal he had forgotten to mind his steps and his surroundings (a usual occurrence for him) and ended up lost somewhere deep within the Faron jungle.

Why the slate called it a forest Link would never know.

Yes, resources were plentiful here. And Link has to give his thanks for stumbling on such a generous region so far, for he was able to not only get his hands on some useful Durians (quite a lot actually) but also on some bananas, mushrooms and good meat from animals so big and dangerous he couldn’t help but smirk whenever he ate at his meals made with their meat.

Satisfaction rolled off of him in waves.

Sadly though, not everything was bright and good and easy. The zone was packed to the teeth with Lizalfos, both the regular kind and those pesky ones with shock arrows.

Now, things could end at than and Link would nod his head and accept the challenge. Because it made sense those electric monsters had electric weapons, but what infuriated him the most! What sent his temper into full rage mode! Was the unfair advantage those Lizalfos had over him!

Faron was a _torture_ when it came to his own survival.

Did you find yourself climbing mountain ledges and needed to get to the top? Or just cross to the other side? Well, too bad. Because in that region it was always raining! All the time! Nonstop, not even to change heavy rain for a drizzle. No!

And what about making a fire to pass the time and wait until it stops raining?

Oh! But that’s the thing!

It had not stopped raining for five days straight!

He had no means to make a fire because the rain kept drowning his attempts. No matter if he was under a heavy canopy or under a rock wall. Everything was so humid it was useless!

He could not use his fire arrows or bomb arrows either. Which means he had to rely on shock arrows – a bad idea when everything around you is soaking wet! – and his ice arrows. Which were his only salvation thus far.

Talking about danger, those Lizalfos? Heck! He hated those things! The place was full of water and ponds and just rain! And wherever they hit with their arrows, Link was bound to get screwed. If not by the arrows, then by real natural lighting, for the storms at Faron were rarely only water. No, there had to be lightning there as well!

So, his better weapons had been kept inside the slate the entire time. He had been reduced to fighting with lances robbed from Lizalfos or bokoblins, flimsy little things that broke with two hits, but at least he was not in danger to die deep fried by lighting. He had seen some foolish monsters die that way, he didn’t know if he should cheer, laugh or cry at the whole thing.

He was frankly exhausted from walking aimlessly. If he could just _climb_ one of those Rocky cliffs, he could paraglide his way out of this part of the jungle and track his steps right into Lurelin once again.

He knew for a fact they sold shock arrows there, the ones prince Sidon needed to appease Vah Ruta. And right now, that was his best bet than fighting a Lynel for them.

Or so he kept telling himself anyway, for how lost he was, he decided he would have better liked to try the Lynel instead.

Well, never mind, he had made it all the way here, he should at least keep trying to reach Lurelin on his own before call-in for the slate. He did not have that many shrines active and the closer one was all the way back to Kakariko. He had not activated Lurelin’s shrine back in the day, and he regretted that decision each day more and more.

If this experience had taught him anything, it was “ _activate”_ every shrine in your way. Period, no doubts, no excuses.

Buffing out some air to put aside a few rogue and wet strands of hair from his face. Link decided in which direction to go.

Just a few minutes ago he was stupidly entering a big clearing, certain he had found a settlement or a place to stay for a while and rest his aching legs. But damn it all! It was the place of a monster camp, and those Lizalfos with their stupid shock arrows came at him while Bokoblins lined their shots at his head.

He ran away like crazy, kept shooting his ice arrows and kept cursing the races of those monsters.

Goddesses he hated rain!

Now, drenched in more fluids than just water. Link used a palm tree leaf to cover his head while making sense of the map on the slate, according to this thing, it should be south-east from…

A thud, then a curious sound echoing through the jungle.

Link had heard it before. Lurelin’s people said those sounds came from beasts called monkeys, yet Link had never seen one.

They told him he was lucky.

Turning around, Link noticed an animal the size of a Hylian child, long spiky ruffled golden fur sticking this way and that. The animal looked intently at Link; big bright eyes attentive of his every move.

Frowning, the Hylian stood still, analyzing this beast for any aggressive behavior, though the other did nothing but stare. Stare and sit on its bum on the mood.

Well, that was a relief. He did not want to lose more resources fighting this thing, besides, it looked as agile as a Lizalfos. Way smarter Than one as well. And it also had big scary fangs on either side of its mouth.

Definitely not something Link wanted to deal with right now.

Taking a few steps backwards, Link found himself in a comical situation. He stepped back once; the beast did the same but towards the Hylian. He exercised this many times until he was about to collide with the nearest Rocky mountain wall. He knew he had to make this thing leave.

Maybe throwing something at it will distract him long enough to escape.

Lizalfos usually followed his bombs around entranced by their glowing blue light. Maybe the same could apply here?

Smiling uneasily, Link materialized a shiny bomb over his head, the animal produced a curious noise and parted its mouth in what Link could only describe as wonder.

So, they **were** as stupid as a Lizalfos! Well, good to know.

Link smiled and tossed the bomb away, the monkey followed the projectile and grabbed it with his two clawed hands, nibbling on its surface.

Knowing he was good to go, Link started to dash out of the abandoned monster camp when he heard an ear-piercing sound come from behind him.

It was that thing, making the sound Link now associated with monkeys (so of course that thing was one) which sent the Hylian on edge. It was a very unsettling screech, kind of like…

Like a call for reinforcements.

Links path had been cut by more monkeys like the last one, at least three now stood in front of him with spears and swords at the ready.

Their screeches sent a wave of panic through Link. Who now knew these creatures were not, indeed, friendly.

He looked up and to the sides, to every direction and knew he was screwed, the rain kept falling heavily and he had run into a narrow pathway carved deep into the stone, making a high entryway into what Link knew at one point had been a thriving city of some sort before being replaced by that monster camp.

He took out his sword, nervously noticing how more monkeys appeared out of nowhere, from the sides; from the rock wall, from the trees.

Goddess he was surrounded!

Now seems like the perfect time to transport far away from…

A painful wail, then another. And Link turned right on time to see some monkeys disappearing in the same purple smoke of monsters. He looked wide eyed at the display, nor sure what had caused their deaths.

More monkeys fell, one by one and Link fell comfortable enough to wager whoever was doing this was not after his head.

He steeled his resolve, grabbed his sword and ran to the nearest beast chopping its head clear off its body, then he trusts his weapon to the chest of another, and to finish up, he did a spin attack to fall other three.

He was busy killing and hurting this new type of monsters that he did not notice when a big shadow fell over his eyes. He turned up from where he had stabbed yet another monkey on the chest, embedding the blade deep into its body and the ground below he could do little else but startle at the sudden darkness casted over his eyes.

Turning around, Link brought his sword up in defense ready for whatever this thing blocking the little amount of sunlight he had was.

The… creature? It walked slowly towards him, the lithe figure moving carefully. Both hands held up in a placating manner despite carrying big curved swords.

He squinted his eyes and looked closely to this apparition once more. His eyes widening in surprise for two reasons.

One: it had stopped raining. Alleluia!

And two:

The creature was not a monster, but a woman (still a creature though) and she was looking at him with big disbelieving eyes.

“The hero of Hyrule?” she whispered to herself in surprise trying to over Link all over with her gaze, as if she could not comprehend what was happening.

Link frowned in distrust but somehow knew this woman was not dangerous (she did not look ready to strike at him, so...). Walking backwards as he had done with the first monkey, Link nodded his head slowly, gauging her reaction to his agreement.

Her lips formed and “o” shape and she blinked a few times.

“It’s… It’s certainly been a long time” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, though he guessed she was trying to help him calm down.

Good tactic. It was working.

“Oh! But you probably don’t know me, do you? My name is Toothiana. Sentinel of the spring of courage.” She bowed briefly to him, a polite greeting but nothing too formal. Not like the Zora he had seen back in the domain when greeting prince Sidon.

With confirmation that this being was not dangerous, Link lowered his sword and fixed his aggressive expression. He smiled at Toothiana (a bit awkward if he is honest. She was a stranger after all, one carrying two big swords at that) nodding his head in his own silent greeting.

“You should be careful young Hero; monkeys are a treacherous lot and they know how to deceive travelers perfectly.” He saw a grimace take place on her face, as if she had been fighting these things for a long time without positive results. Link knew how frustration over a failed quest or mission felt like, he kind of understood.

“Please, take care from now on. You were lucky I was around or you would have been mauled by those beasts already.” She continued, her eyes looking with insistency towards the northeast. Remembering she had company though, the woman smiled warmly once more.

“The spring of courage was designed to help you in your adventure, young hero. Maybe stopping by next time will be beneficial for your journey.” Before departing, she shared a complicit smile, a hidden joke only she understood lingering in her eyes.

“Maybe if you’re lucky, we might end up crossing paths again.”

He felt before he saw her leave with a powerful gust of wind behind her. He had to look away and cover his eyes to avoid dirt entering and make them itch.

He thought about her last words. The spring of courage…

Well, he had already made it this far in this awful region and got nothing worthy out of it. If this spring truly was designed to aid him, he should as well take advantage of this and find it already.

He better cut out any ties to this region as soon as possible, so his visits here could be postponed in the future.

*+*+*+*

Tooth had to say that despite displaying an enormous amount of determination and stubbornness, this hero kid still had way too much to learn.

And when she said he was lucky she had been around when the monkeys attacked. She was not joking.

A hero he might be, but he still lacked the strength and skills to back up that title.

She hoped he heeded her words to come back when he got stronger. Because as of now, the spring’s entrance and surrounding areas were completely overridden by monsters.

Monsters Tooth herself, not matter how much she wanted to, could not dispose of herself, as she lacked any authority to keep calling herself _sentinel_ from the spring of courage. True she might be of the Sisters of flight, but she served Hylia now. And Hylia’s orders were for her to continue collecting teeth and protecting the children.

As if she could do that anymore.

Gritting her teeth, Toothiana had to bite down her desire to destroy every single one of those monsters outside the temple just to spite the goddess, for she was sure that Hylia took **this** opportunity given by Ganon as another test for her hero.

She did not care about the spring.

Did not care about Farore’s worship place being made a mess by these things.

Typical of her.

She had never liked Hylia, nor her ways of doing things. For example, she wanted Tooth to continue collecting teeth? To go out at night again and again? For what?! She was all alone now. Nothing remained of the group gathered by the goddess and the Man in the Moon centuries past. It was just her! and besides. After the calamity struck, her powers over teeth vanished. What was the point?

At least Tooth could continue attacking the monkeys. Small mercies.

Not Hylia, nor the Man in the Moon himself had ever told her otherwise, for these monsters and Tooth had history. They had existed before the calamity and they owed a debt of blood and death to Tooth’s race.

Maybe Hylia didn’t intervene because her revenge came from the demise of the sisters of flight. Those were Farore’s matters. Not Hylia’s.

*+*+*+*

The way to the sanctuary had been overridden by Lizalfos. This, Tooth knew well. And she was pretty sure a Moblin made his house inside the spring as well.

Hidden between some trees overhead, near the spring. Tooth looked at the hero fight his way toward the entrance.

She ached to fly down and help him, but a powerful sensation she could only interpret as Hylia’s will, urged for her to wait and let him deal with them by himself, he was supposed to be a hero.

He needed to learn how to beat these monsters without help or he would be useless in further trials.

Being honest, she did not like this way of doing things. Not one bit. But what could she do against the will of Hylia?

She was just another “willing” servant.

A decision she regretted to this very day.

*+*+*+*

If he had known how difficult it would be getting to the spring, he would have ignored his damn curiosity and gone all the way towards Lurelin already! However, he had managed to fend off the Lizalfos at ground level, and if he managed to run around constantly and not stall even to try and hit those bow user Lizalfos over the rock pillars above his head, Link could truly make it!

And make it he did, though his injuries were considerable.

The Moblin inside the temple though, that was a surprise. An awful surprise at that.

He readied his sword and shield, glared at the monster already coming after him, after his head.

He slashed at its side, not without receiving a blow of his own.

Careless, he had been careless in his haste.

Pain exploded from his head where the club hit. He tried to blink away a few times to recover his vision, but found he could not, looking up. The blurry figure of the Moblin raised its club ready to end his prey. When, out of nowhere, the beast cried out and its silhouette disappeared.

“Hero?”

Someone called, they asked something and Link could just wince in pain attempting to get up. Whoever was there with him. They rushed to his side and felt them touch his injured head.

“You’ll be fine. I Promise.”


	2. All we can, with what we have.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link wakes up in a strange place shrouded in darkess...  
> What else is new?

Tooth got as close as she dared outside the dilapidated walls of the spring, spying at the progress of the hero. She had noticed him evading most of his enemies and wincing in pain when an arrow struck him painfully on his side and its electricity made him go stiff to continue moving around and escaping their attacks as he favored. 

She wanted to fly low and help him. Wished to be there and decimate those cowardly monsters perched up high on the columns. But as much as she wished to depart, a force held her back and prevented Tooth from entering into the fray… Sorry, the  _ goddess’ trial.  _

_ Let him.  _ Was Hylia’s command. And Tooth couldn’t feel more humiliated than this. Sitting back like an obedient dog tied to its leash, merely watching the sick display of a young man being mauled by monsters. 

She wanted to scream, to hit, to slash at something! 

She was just so angry! 

She let out a breath of relief when the hero got inside the spring. Looking through the holes of the stone walls, she witnessed how he carried himself carelessly into the fight, lounging at the Moblin evidently not noticing the monsters had already raised its club for a hit. 

The boy was painfully hit on the head, his prone form on the floor seeking purchase to get back on track. Tooth saw the Moblin come closer though, it’s club ready for the final blow. 

Her breathing was erratic and loud in her worry, panic seizing her whole body believing this young boy was about to die. She could not allow this to happen. Trial or not, Hylia or not. She had to save him! 

_ This is not your job sister of flight!  _

She heard Hylia command firmly inside her head, Tooth had to grit her teeth and clutch her weapons even more tightly. Hylia’s orders were strong to subdue her will. But her care and love for younger beings was stronger, and despite Hylia’s displeasure and anger directed at her for her disobedience. Tooth had her stubborn mind set on saving the hero. 

‘ _ It  _ **_ is _ ** _ the job of a sister of flight. And I’m one of them before anything else!’ _

She mentally snapped at the voice of the goddess, daring her challenge her nature anymore as she had already discarded her orders of letting the boy basically die. 

She heard a high-pitched noise inside her head, no wonder the goddess doing her upmost to make Toothiana stop. 

Biting back the immeasurable pain. Toothiana let out a cry and impaled the abomination in front of her with one of her swords, saving the hero on time. 

Her head pounded in agonizing pain. She knew Hylia was mad at her, but she cared not. The boy was blinking quite rapidly and she knew he must have been disoriented by the hit. He did not look too good. 

“H-hey?” She asked through the pain. 

“C-can you hear me? Hero? Can you get up?

It was no use; he fell back on the stone floor in a heap. He had been injured pretty badly. 

Reassuring the kid, Toothiana promised him he would live to see another day. She attempted to place her warmest smile on her face but she felt it somewhat distorted by her own pain, fear and concern. 

Anyway, out here in the open was not the best of places to leave the hero to recuperate. This region was infamous for its raging storms and powerful treacherous monsters. Besides, Tooth had irresponsibly been neglecting to count the days until the next blood moon. What if it happened today? Then her agony and the boy’s efforts would have been for naught. 

Even if Hylia reproached her actions, both present and future. She was already too compromised with the hero to let him fend for himself, injured as he was.

Her resolve made, she sheathed her swords at her sides, carried the boy and readjusted her grip a couple of times. She would take him back to the safest place in this whole jungle. 

And that was, indeed, Tooth’s own homely abode. 

*+*+*+*

Link woke up to darkness, his first though was where had he ended up now? And then, if something had happened after the Moblin hit him. 

He looked around frantically, only to find an already dying fire to the side and some puddles here and there. When his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he could make out rocks, and stalagmites and stalactites, pretty big ones at that. He contemplated getting up and set the dying fire back to life when a voice grabbed his attention. 

It was her. 

“I must say your prompt visit surprised me. I would have never thought you will take my advice and come so soon.” Looking up, Link noticed the woman at some point had walked right in front of him, on the other side of the fire. He could only distinguish her silhouette, so he didn’t know if she was angry or impressed, or disappointed. But by her voice he understood she was not pleased with him. 

“As impressive as your feat outside was. I would have thought you had more common sense than that. Battling against an army of electric Lizalfos without the proper gear  ** or ** experience? If I didn’t know about your fate as the hero, I would have thought you were suicidal.” She accused; voice full of reproach. 

Somewhere in the middle of her speech, Link had averted his gaze and refused to keep looking at that woman anymore, she certainly knew where to hit. 

However, he felt a hand on his temple, warm and gentle. Prodding at his injury there. When Link winced in fear, the woman (what was her name again?) retreated her hand. 

“I’m sorry hero. I did all I could with what I had, which is not much by the way.” Her voice lost her serious tone at the end, a mere defeated whisper that left Link feeling curious. 

Link felt the stranger move towards the fire, and once reaching her destination, she dropped a rock (flint perhaps) and with a slash from one of her curved swords, the fire was roaring once again. 

Now able to see, all Link could do was gasp in amazement. 

As soon as the winged woman set the fire going, all around them torches upon torches got lit one after another, bathing the entire cave with a warm light. That’s when Link noticed that this cave was not just a hole inside a mountain, but it looked like an entire  ** city ** build  ** inside ** a mountain! 

The ceiling was huge over his head, so much he could barely see the end of it. What he had thought were stalactites and stalagmites before, were in fact towers; upside down towers that were intricately decorated. So much so, he had yet to find some other civilization in Hyrule that could compare. Ancient ruins or present cities. Maybe Zora’s domain, could be an approximation. But still, what Link once though was the most beautiful city his eyes would ever see, paled in comparison of what these towers once were in their prime. For he understood the majority showed signs of decay now. 

To furtherly support his previous claim about its beauty, he witnessed that on the walls of the towers – covering the surface – were thousands upon thousands of colorful crystals and colored stones decorating their length, lining windows and parapets, columns and decorative vines around their figures, Link could see threads of gold. 

And no doubt it was real gold. 

It was safe to assume he had been left speechless. 

The woman turned around to look at him staring, and she shared a knowing smile at him; a proud grin at that. But he somehow felt it lacked something, or better said, it did not represent fully what she intended for it to show. 

Was she sad? 

“Welcome to Punjam Hy Loo. Hero. The ancestral proud home of the race of the Sisters of flight. And my domain.” She nodded her head his way and smiled brightly, showing her pearly white teeth to him. 

“You should feel honored, you are but the second Hylian to have ever been well received among our walls. A grandiose feat indeed.”

Link did not know why her words or the way she spoke them sent a familiar feeling in his chest, a pang of something unpleasant, but not in the bad way. As if he had known that kind of attitude on someone. As if he had known a person who acted like the woman in front of him did. 

Agh! Trying to awake his memories was always a problem, wasn’t it? At least with Mipha it had not been this hard! Why if this (sister of flight was it?) woman knew him? it means he knew her before, right? And that means he should remember her.

Maybe even a glimpse of what she once was to him? like how it happened with Mipha’s statue. It was just a statue and he got back a bit of who Mipha was to him. So, why would it not work with this person? Wouldn’t it be easier if his  _ memory trigger _ was alive? 

“Hero?” She must have noticed his distress, for her cheerful demeanor disappeared and she was now coming close to him, her hands in front of her trying to reach for Link, her face sporting a concerned frown. 

Link looked up from his desperate mental rambling. Remembering (pft as if he was good at that. How ironic) that he was not alone. His eyes widened and he sent a questioning glance her way. 

“Are you alright? You seemed troubled for a moment there.” He sensed her honest worry for him in those soft-spoken words, and he could not think of this woman as someone annoying anymore.

Yes, she may be a bit arrogant and speak with big words and grand gestures. But behind the façade, inside those cracks she had. He could see there was so much more to her than just a woman proud of her job and her race. 

Why was she pretending though? Why put on this display?

Link nodded his head, a weak placating smile on his lips. However, this did not seem to alleviate her concern, and actually made her frown even more and hum deep in thought. 

“Well, if you say so.” Thank the goddess she had let the topic go. 

“Our halls may not be as majestic as they once were. But I assure you we had been doing all we can to keep them in the best conditions with what we have.” She said in a low melancholic voice, her hand reaching for the wall besides her, colored stone meeting her fingers and making her place a rueful smile on her face. 

He looked at the woman with pity, already understanding how hard it must be for her seeing her once glorious home succumb to what it is today. He could tell because of her eyes, her not-really-there smiles and the way her voice softened when talking about her halls. 

No one escaped the calamity. No matter how well hidden they were. 

Speaking of! 

“Where are we?” She interpreted for him. Noticing how he gestured all around with his hands and making a pleading expression with his face. She was good reading facial expressions. Many children liked to communicate like that while they were learning their native language. Though for a boy his age, Tooth was a bit surprised he kept doing such things.

Link nodded with his eyes wide and bright in wonder. He needed to know if his original plans of going to the spring, then to Lurelin were severely affected. 

She hummed “We are inside the mountain pass southeast of the spring of courage. I can show you the exit once you are well rested and healed enough to continue with your journey.”

Link nodded in appreciation for all she had been doing for him so far. For a total Stanger (maybe. Did they know each other at some point?). 

With his worries about his future plans quelled. Link poked the arm of his host, the woman looking down at him with genuine curiosity. 

He looked intensively at her. With his right hand, he gestured deeper into the cave (city) and looked up at the winged woman. A question laying heavy behind his eyes. 

“You wish to explore my home, I take it?” she summarizes with a raised eyebrow. 

Link beamed at the winged creature and almost jumps in excitement at the prospect of what he could find here. 

She looks unsure. Her eyes dart at the side for a minute. But she sighs and agrees to his plead. 

“Very well, but you shall be accompanied by someone. And! Don’t touch anything she tells you not to touch. Alright?”

A bit deterred by her words. Link still nods and waits for whoever is supposed to guide him. Being inside a new city or location is not fun if he can’t enjoy it on his own pace. But he must agree he could be a bit destructive if let unsupervised for too long. Perhaps this is not such a bad idea after all. 

Perhaps whoever comes with him is nice enough to understand his curiosity. 

Moments later, he feels something poking at his back and he turns. Not finding anyone. Looking around, he only hears high pitched chirping (like a baby bird) and he thinks he’s gone crazy when the amused laugh of his host distracts him of his search and he focuses on her mirthful display.

There, suddenly, in front of his face appears a tiny… thing? Chirping his ears off and flying from one place to the other in  an endless display of energy. The winged woman laughs some more and extends her hand to the tiny creature. 

Now that Link looks at it better, it does resemble a baby bird. 

“Your companion for today. Be careful though, she is a bit mischievous.”

She winks at him and he blinks a few times. Unable to process quickly enough what had just happened. The tiny thing flies to his side and he can swear it is trying to communicate with him enthusiastically. He frowns not knowing how to proceed and his host notices and comes to his aid. 

“I’m sorry little one. He can’t understand you like I do. But please show him around and make sure he knows where he can go and what things he should leave alone. Alright?”

The creature chirps her agreement and grabs at Link’s tunic eagerly, excited to start their little tour. 

His winged host encourages Link to follow the little creature with a path on his back and a joyful laugh while he is dragged by his mini guide deeper into Punjam Hy Loo. 

Toothiana knows more of her girls will join them eventually. 

And at that, Tooth can’t suppress a complicit mocking smile. She wished she could see Link’s face upon the eventual swarming of her tiny-selves herself. 

But suddenly remembers There’s much to be done and so little time to accomplish all of her work. Sighing, she prays to Farore Hylia can forgive her meddling. For she may not like Hylia, but knows she is dangerous as an enemy. 

Is not that she dislikes her job with the children, but her employers were another matter entirely. She did not trust either Hylia or the Man in the Moon anymore. Not in the way she had when she was young. She knew now what to expect from them.  The last of her race… and still, Tooth didn’t seem to stop making powerful enemies for herself, did she? She felt another migraine taking root already. And just after the other one had finally calmed down! Ugh, this better not be caused by that pesky goddess. 


	3. So, you do speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lack of updates but my computer's text processor is giving me problems.  
> Oh! and for those of you wondering, why does Tooth act so weird?  
> Well, I'm basing Toothiana on her book self rather than her movie counterpart.  
> Seems to me book!Toothiana fits better with the solemn atmosphere of Breath of the Wild and its overall lore.  
> Well, enjoy reading everyone!

Link is understandably baffled by the sheer  enormity of this place, not only of how long he has been walking through its halls, but also for how little he is actually seen of it all! 

The towers are tall, as tall as the mountains they are embedded in. And he knows each is a little world for him to explore and he’s dying to do so! But he knows he doesn’t have the time.

Maybe in another visit? 

He knows he would like to come back, but getting to the spring was so problematic in the first place he would have to delay such niceties until he was strong enough to at least outrun those  Lizalfos and kill that  Moblin. As it is, they will most surely come back with the next blood moon eventually. 

Looking at his companion birdie, Link notices with a half-smile how diligent the small creature is with her given orders. So much so, that she pecks at Link’s hands or arms or practically anywhere she can aim her beak on to prevent him touching stuff he is not supposed to. He does not like the treatment, but he supposes is the only way for a being who cannot talk directly at him. 

The first time she ever did it, Link had come close to a mine of Luminous’ stone. He had seen several shining around the entire complex. Used to illuminate this place no doubt. For once they left behind the narrow passageways and smaller rock chambers, the underground city expanded to colossal heights within the mountain. Impossible to illuminate with torches alone.

Knowing such a valuable mining place existed within, he wondered which one to exploit first, and had waited for the perfect one to cross his path and smash into pieces with one of his remaining weapons. 

The one he chose stood a bit off the side, far away from any other constructions on its path that Link deemed it safe to start swinging his blade around like no one’s business. However, the small thing noticed and chirped loudly in front of his face, directly in his ear and fluttering around him. Poking, prodding, tugging on his tunic to get him to stop mid-swing and continue moving forward.

Link looked at the small creature in wonder. Tried to tell her he needed the stone and that she should not worry for the place was full of these mines.

There was no deterring this little soldier. No, she shook her head and crossed her small arms in a “X” shape to show him the negative met by his request.

He guessed this was an order from the winged woman herself. To preserve the luminous’ stone mines. Well, with how dark it was inside the entire mountain city, it was no wonder they needed all the illumination they could get. 

Link let the matter rest, for now at least. Maybe asking at a later date for permission to mine from within the city will be a good idea. He should tell the winged woman once he found her in a better mood.

As the minutes go by, and he has explored a good number of towers; towers that he can climb a and reach, that is (and still not all of them, never all of them). Link notices two more little birdie things joining him as he crawls back from within one such tower. And tell him to come follow them somewhere unknown.

The first creature (the one the winged woman appointed as guide) refuses to let him go and urges him to follow her instead. The two other beings come forth to meet her version of a “scolding” and everything is just so absurd he has to laugh at the whole situation. 

They all chirp among themselves, the first one (his guide) seems to explain she is the one in charge for the other two stay, but do not sway him to go somewhere else any longer. 

He smiled in sympathy to the two and shrugs his shoulders. ‘Boss’s orders’ he means, and somehow! He thinks they understand for they cross their tiny arms and let out a high-pitched breath (a sigh?) in defeat. Well, he likes these two already. 

More join them as they walk, and Link smiles and laughs when they seem more interested in him than in the whole tour thing. They poke his clothes, touch his hair and marvel at his weapons and accessories. He swears he hears them gasp whenever something he wears catches their fancy. 

The first fairy (his guide) chirps angrily at them to stop and let him continue exploring. Something Link appreciates, but he won’t deny all this attention, as ridiculous as it may be, pleases him.

Which is weird. He was never good dealing with having all the attention drawn to himself before. Maybe It’s because these creatures can’t speak. Or because they remind Link of children. He likes kids, they don’t ask Link to save Hyrule, and they don’t force him to remember difficult things.

It’s something new for him. And it’s amusing and innocent from their part. They don’t ogle at him because he is the hero, but because he is a visitor in their home, and he’s so different from them all Link believes he should be a novelty for their big amethyst eyes. 

Once their own exploration of the hero has ceased, they accompany Link for the rest of his exploration. He grabs at the colored stones and crystals over the walls of the towers, feels their texture and bluffs away the dust covering the golden drawings depicted in these walls. Both inside and outside the towers he finds drawing like this, they make flowery designs. Vines and leaves, big curly blooms connected with these, travel through the walls and along their edges like the real deal he supposes they are based from. He smiled sadly.

If such flowers were to ever exist in Hyrule, he imagines they must have gone extinct a long while ago. For he has yet to see blooms that look like that.

He finds that, overall, his time spent exploring, these structures remind him of nests. Which makes sense if all the creatures living here are like these little birds. 

He also makes out the shapes of murals on the rock walls of the mountains, with figures he does not know. At least to his understanding none of them have anything to do with Zelda, the calamity or the champions. Though he sees the winged woman painted in them among other people. The lack of light makes it difficult to see, as well as the constant tugging and prodding of the fairies. They are eager to have him follow along, and they won’t be deterred. 

A black figure is sported in one of these murals however, a menacing shadow that Link does not believe for a second to be calamity Ganon. It is pointing what appears to be one hand in the direction of the winged woman and other four or so many people. What looks like a scythe (but bigger than the ones Link has seen farmers use back in Kakariko) rests menacingly in its other hand, the blade pointing to the ground behind it.

He believes that painting must be about a specific battle. However, the light of the nearest torch is unable to cover the mural completely, and he is left (literally) in the dark about its true contents.   


He files this information for later, may as well be useful. 

Finally, after what feels like hours of walking, Link gets to what he assumes is the center of this place, an enormous circular platform at ground level paved with regular stones. In the center, made of colorful jewels is the image of the winged woman with her arms extended to each side of her. She is smiling. 

From her hands, pieces of opals, amber and diamonds come together to shape the image of rays of light expanding outwards around them and beyond.

Falling from those rays (as if she was throwing something to the ground in the picture) white circular stones shaped oddly like teeth scatter in what remains of the picture. He wishes to see closer so he can better tell what they convey (they can’t be teeth can they?) but he feels ashamed of stepping into the jewels and ruining them with his weight. 

“Don’t worry. They won’t break. Won’t even leave a mark if you tried.”

Looking up, Link finds his host perched in a platform from the back wall, is high but not too much so he can see her with the limited light inside the room from the torches. She is sitting with her legs crossed and both hands on her lap. 

“Magic makes sure the stones stay as good as new. No matter what comes over them. Nice, isn’t it?”

Link nods in agreement. He does not know how old they may be, but the jewels sure look new with the way they sparkle under the torches’ light. 

He draws his gaze once more to the wall behind her. It seems to contain another mural. And this one Link sees better. 

There are children drawn on the bottom; children from the different races he knows exists in Hyrule, there's  Hylians , Zoras, Gerudo and even  Gorons . 

The children are beautifully colored and detailed. More than any other imagery Link has seen out there, it reminds him of  Pikango’s paintings. 

The woman is there as well. A side view of her body reaching her hands outwards to the kids. There are white spots on her hands and the children are smiling. Around her, he sees what appears to be rays of light and her little bird creatures surrounding her and the kids. 

Everyone is smiling. 

Link is grinning too just looking at the image. 

He thinks is beautiful. 

Tooth blinks a couple of times noticing his smile and softened eyes, she follows his gaze to the picture of her with the children besides where she is sitting and immediately feels her cheeks warm a bit. 

She mutters a curse. 

Of course, he saw  _ that _ . 

Why did she had that one done by the way?

Not knowing how to carry on the conversation to topics further away from the mural. Tooth clears her throaty and points vaguely at it. 

“Yes, also magically protected. It will stay there for a long time. Fortunately.”

She feels silly. These murals were made to recount the importance of her job, of why she loves doing what she does helping the children of Hyrule. Not to stoke her ego or as a display of vanity. 

She knew she needs the reminders every day. Especially after the loss of her only friends so many years ago. 

No! Now was not the time for depressing thoughts. She had company!

Better focus on that. 

He sees the woman shake her head, as if dismissing a particular foul thought. Then, she uses her wings to come down from her place and land just in the middle of the platform, a few meters away from him. 

She carries herself tall and proud. Like the leader he assumes she is. Though, he asks himself if there  is any other winged people like her inside this place. So far, she’ the single adult in the premises. Where is everyone else? Where they off somewhere else perhaps? 

“I see my girls kept you entertained for a long time.” Behind link. The cluster of birdies come out and fly towards the woman chirping happily. She nods and says a few words Link can’t understand, but he knows she must be talking with the little creatures. 

The woman laughs and gasps in fake surprise to their tales, Like Link has seen mothers do in the towns and stables he’s visited so far with their own children. 

Somehow the comparison warms his heart a bit. 

“I see. They also had their bit of fun with you, hero. We don’t receive many visitors from outside. You see.”

And he knows this. He knows because she had said so herself before. He is the only other  Hylian to have ever stepped inside this place in goddess knows how long. His sympathy for those tiny birds increases ten-fold when their situation downs on him. They are isolated from everyone else. Not receiving visits and not talking with other people. It must be maddening. 

The poor things. And they were so friendly too! 

“They said they liked your hair.” She reassumes talking, her words coming after she hears their chirps and translates for him. 

“Your clothes are funny but, pretty…”

He now feels self-conscious, he is wearing the  Sheikah clothes, sans the hair accessories. (He could not afford those) in his head he wears a  Hylian cloak (though he keeps the hood down in here). Link rubs at his neck, embarrassment coming to his face in a display of red cheeks. 

“They say you are a nice  Hylian . And that they like your blue eyes, they are like aquamarines, and your hair like threads of gold…” there she stops and gasps. Her face showing a mix of horror and indignation. 

“Girls! Control yourselves! Don’t put the name of my race to shame.”

The little things all pout in disappointment but recuperate almost instantly. Resuming their perpetual chirping. 

“Apologies.” She says after a while. “They can get too out of hand if I’m not there to supervise them. How did you find our humble abode Hero?”

She is giving him that know-it-all smile, the one with a joke behind it Link  ** now  ** understands. This place is many things, but humble is not one of them.

He rises and eyebrow. And she can’t help but laugh out loud at his expression. 

“Sorry, sorry! I  ** had ** to do it. As I said, not many people come here. I must take any chances I can get; don’t you think?”

Link could not say he liked her style of humor, but he understood. They must have been separated from everyone for a long time. It was perhaps a reflex to want to show off their beautiful city when they knew its greatness was hidden from everyone. 

Quite a shame, really. 

“It’s beautiful.” He speaks with his low voice, barely out of his teen years but not deep enough to sound adult yet. He does not like using his voice much. Honestly, he prefers to convey his thoughts with his facial expressions or hand gestures. He would have liked to use his signs to communicate, but so far  Hylains had had a hard time understanding him. So, he had to use his voice, even if his answers were short and perhaps “rude” for some. But that was just him. He did not like to talk. 

She seems taken aback by the sound of his voice, her eyes are wide and her mouth set in a silent “o” shape. She comes back from her surprise eventually. But he likes to count it as a point in his favor. He managed to throw her off a loop for the first time. 

He smiles cockily at her. 

“So, you  ** do ** speak.” Mutters his companion. Her eyes lax and warm, as if recalling something. 

“ _ He _ made it seem as if you were mute…” she muses aloud. But stops herself with a gasp when she sees Link is staring quizzically at her. 

“Sorry if that was rude, it’s just so happens to be what a friend told me long ago.” She corrects herself with a wince, knowing she had committed perhaps a mistake. 

Before Link could ask about it however. She spoke once more.

“Now that I know you can speak. May I know your name?”

He looks at this woman. Warm eyes and smile and the polite distance she keeps between the two. 

Her disposition to help, to let him explore despite not being fond of the idea at first. The way she helped him understand a bit of what the little birds were saying. 

He could not find a single reason as to why not give her his name. 

She already knows he was  ** the  ** hero. She had rescued him from the monkeys and from that  Moblin , she even was the protector of the spring of courage, wasn’t she? 

Besides, if she was an enemy. She would have already done something suspicious. And someone whose people looked as dangerous as fairies, could not be considered evil in Link’s mind. 

He blinked a couple of times, then held out his hand. 

“Link” he provided cheerfully. 

Beaming at his excitement, the winged lady also gave him her own hand. He noticed hers were rather delicate looking for a fighter (judging by the weapons she used) her nails were painted a pretty purplish color Link could not fully appreciate due the yellowish hue of the surrounding light, but he decided that if she agreed. In the future, he would ask her to do his nails like hers. Maybe another color though. They looked pretty. 

“Nice to meet you Link. As a servant of  Farore , it is my pleasure to count myself as your ally. I hope you find my aid helpful in your journey.”

An ally… 

He has… and just like that. For real! 

He’s not alone anymore then?! 

He can ask this lady to help him on his quest, to help him fight Ganon?! To… 

Oh! He has to thank her!

Toothiana sees the boy jump up and down like a child upon seeing a rupee she just left in their pillow, and being honest, she is truly surprised by this behavior. 

The boy shakes her hand enthusiastically and barely manages to ask her something between his bubbling expressions of glee. 

The question however, is not funny at all for the queen of  Punjam Hy Loo. 

“My name?” she asks back, one eyebrow raised and both her arms crossed in front of her. 

Link looks confused but is not deterred by her negative expression. He nods his head quickly. 

“Boy, I gave you my name the first time we officially met with those monkeys. Did you forget it that easily?” 

Sheepishly, Link acknowledges It’s true. He sends a hand to rest on the back of his neck, a goofy grin that passes as an apology on his face. 

“It’s  Toothiana , queen of the sisters of flight, servant of  Farore ...” it seems she wants to continue but stops when she sees him staring. 

And staring… 

And staring. 

“Just Toothiana, or Tooth is fine too. I bet if I told you anymore than that, you would just forget about it.”

Much to her dismay, the boy sends her a huge shameless grin and a thumbs up. He’s not denying his short attention span then.

Well, it’s not like Tooth hasn’t dealt with children like this before. But somehow, the discouraging part is knowing Link is  ** not ** a child. 

Well, she had worked with kids her entire life. She could deal with another one no problem.


	4. Please, help me remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy! This thing has to be a pain, doesn't it? The thing is, I have to filter this bad boy through three text processors before posting. Like, how come that's normal?!  
> Anyway, until I fix my issues with my computer, I guess this's how this fic will have to be uploaded (dang it!)  
> Well, at least I triple check my grammar mistakes before I put this story out here. Like, wow! When I think I've got them all, google docs proves me wrong. The more you know kids!  
> Anyway, enjoy!

“What’s with that face? I thought you already knew no one is supposed to intervene with the fate of the hero.” She says. But Link can only frown and pout in anger and displeasure. 

He really does act like a kid. 

“I’m sorry I can’t help you the way you believed I would. But my duty is to remain here in my abode, with my girls.” 

Link was so pissed off at that moment he could not stop the words coming up next. He was never good at expressing himself through words, and when he did say any, they were cutting, honest and to the point. 

“Hiding?” he bites. And Toothiana’s pleading face banishes. And in its stead, there’s a scowl. 

“Be careful with your words kid. I do not tolerate disrespect from anyone. Not even from Hylia’s little hero.” 

He sighs, and starts again. 

“There’s many monsters outside.” 

She nods, still guarded against his problematic behavior. 

“Yes.” 

“In the spring.” 

“I noticed.” 

He raises his eyebrow at that, sharp and accusing like his first words had been. That’s when Toothiana knows she has somehow lost this battle. 

It was pretty obvious to tell the truth. 

“You ask why I don’t kill them, don’t you? Why do I let them linger and invade and attack such sacred place.” 

He nods. 

“You did say that was your job, yes.” 

She sighs while rubbing her temples, knowing that hiding her true self is no use anymore. No when the truth is so hard to hide. 

Who was she deceiving anyway? She can’t say she is the guardian of the spring when she is not allowed to keep monsters at bay. 

Maybe she was just deceiving herself in the end. 

“Look at the image by your feet Link, what do you see?” 

He lowers his gaze once more. Then turns it back on her after a while. His eyes are on a determinate expression and nods his head in Tooth’s way. 

She understands his meaning, and returns the gesture. 

“Yes, It’s me. What else?” 

Link’s eyes search on the glinting piece of art for more answers. But he can just say what he sees, not that he understands if there is a hidden meaning or something. 

“White things” he rasps with difficulty. And Tooth notices his discomfort at having to speak so much. She sends an apologetic glance his way and announces he’s correct. 

“Yes. And rays of light. The white things. What shape do they have?” 

Link sends her a pleading look, and she knows he’s tired of her questions. But she does not relent on this. 

It was the most important after all. 

He sighs in defeat, knowing Tooth won’t concede him his desired silence. He responds without delay. 

“Teeth” though he somewhat feels stupid saying it. Of course, that’s ridiculous. What do teeth have to do with…? 

“Exactly.” She agrees and smiles. When seeing Link’s flabbergasted expression by such confession she laughs and wipes a tear from her eye. 

His face was so expressive such gestures got to her pretty easily. 

Seeing his frightened expression and eyes oozing confusion. Tooth outstretched her hand and beaconed him to follow her to the back of the room; to where the mural stood. 

“It may sound weird at first. But me and my girls have a very important duty of our own with the children of Hyrule.” she saw Link finally come to her side; his eyes trained on the picture above them. 

Seeing she had his attention. She looked up as well and continued with her tale. 

“We collect their baby teeth when they fall. In exchange, we give them rupees.” Link makes a point of looking towards her then, his face a frown of disbelief and plain confusion. 

It hurts her to admit she also sees distrust in those eyes. 

She smiled sadly. But despite his weariness, Tooth encourages him to keep looking at the mural. 

“Teeth are very important for children, Link. They store the most precious memories from their childhood. And with my aid, they can remember the important events and lessons of their life when they need them the most.” At this, she turns to look at him. And notices his eyes had widened in what seems to be shock. His mouth is open in a silent gasp, but he does not stop looking at the mural before him. 

“Link?” she asks. Worried for his awkward reaction, his stiff body. His trembling hands. 

“Remember?!” It sounds like a plea. It’s broken, is desperate. He parts ways with the mural and faces Tooth head on, his gaze holds so many emotions, but above any other its hurt and hope. 

A bit uneasy, Tooth nods her head. 

“Yes. We help people remember.” Says Tooth. Her pose changes after these words, she stands straight and proud, her face a determinate frown and her hand goes to her heart. 

“I’m Toothiana, guardian of memories. My real duty” She points out strongly and sends him a warm smile at the end. “At your service, young hero Link.” 

He feels so many emotions come from such a revelation. He does not know if he should probably hold his hopes high but, memories? Really? These people could (if he understood well) help others remember things using teeth? 

He could regain his lost memories faster with her aid! He could remember Mipha and the other champions faster this way! Honor their memories and their sacrifice. He could be the hero Zelda needed him to be, he could come to her rescue faster if he just remembered. 

Tears come without Link being able to do anything to stop them. He runs towards the winged woman and not caring if she approves or not, gives her a hug. 

She squeaks in surprise, not entirely sure how to deal with the sudden display of… affection? Gratitude? For what? She had done nothing to deserve such a bone crushing hug. From around them, her fairies came to witness their master’s plight and openly awww’ed at the scene. 

Tooth openly glared at them. 

“Make me remember!” he cried desperately, fisting Tooth’s back feathers like a lifeline, his tears rolled like rivers dampening her shoulder’s plumage. 

“What?” 

“Please help me! Just, just... Please help me remember.” 

Tooth had no idea what he meant by that. Remember what exactly? 

She let out a sigh. What had she just gotten into? 

Tooth let Link sob a little more against her. Guessing he needed the opportunity to expel his frustrations and pain from his system. As she let it happen, the woman brought a hand to his hair, petting it softly. 

“I’m afraid you’ll need to be more specific than that, Link.” 

She thought she knew what he meant by those words. And if indeed it came to be what she feared… 

Damn! She should have clarified where she stood with her powers in recent times! 

Her pride will one day be her undoing certainly. When will she remember herself to just accept everything as she once knew it was over? 

She grimaced at the thought of killing these boy’s hopes. But she could not let him live in darkness, she was not the guardian she had been during her prime anymore. 

She was nothing. 

*+*+*+* 

“You don’t remember anything from your life one-hundred years ago?!” 

Link sat before Tooth, a fire raging between them. And he nodded gravely. 

She had taken Link away from the sanctuary of teeth. She knew the place may continue to stir negative emotions inside the boy, so she helped him settle down by the Hylian vault of teeth. Where Tooth had stored all the teeth from Hylian children long ago. 

The vaults were high massive towers, an amalgamation made of six slim towers conjoined together making a circle in the center where Bunnymund decided to place a courtyard. One for each big vault. 

There was an entrance to the courtyards, and thus, to the chambers where the Teeth were stored, which meant that if you wanted to enter and steal the Teeth, you had to enter through a single side. And these were protected by magic to be sealed with doors made from rocks that came through the ground in case of an attack. 

In essence a weird design, yes. But it was secure and effective, and it also allowed Tooth to require less space to store the teeth. An idea from North himself, who had designed the storage system when Tooth had reluctantly confessed her palace was being overridden by teeth. 

In the beginning she was a disaster with organizing her job, but North laughed it off and offered to help. Alongside a competitive Bunnymund, both of Toothiana’s companions worked together (through much bickering) to build beautiful innovative towers such as these to keep each races’ hall neatly organized. 

The six slim towers had thousands of openings on them where Toothiana kept the teeth safe. And the massive vaults comprising these six smaller towers, prevented what Tooth once feared what would happen when the idea of towers for the teeth was suggested. 

Like this, it did not look like her palace floor was impaled by spears. It kind of had a regal feeling to it, which Tooth loved. 

Bunnymund suggested the patches of grass in the middle of each vault be used to place stoned courtyards with jeweled drawings like the one at the sanctuary of teeth (the one in the platform with Toothiana showing her powers). 

And despite her initial negative, North; cheerful and excited North, had declared it a great idea, and designed pathways and courtyards connecting the many towers with different stones for each race and jeweled drawings at the center of each courtyard. 

At present times, Tooth and Link were in the hall of Hylians, an entire part of the mountain full of these special towers for teeth storage. As this vault was for Hylians, and Hylians alone. The stones were a cream color and the jewels inside each Tower’s courtyard were amber, and they depicted the royal family’s emblem. 

Link was sitting in one of these courtyards, the tall towers making shadows fall over them both. And it was fine by him. He liked the secluded feeling this place had. It put him at ease. 

Tooth stood to the other side of the fire, observing Link in horror, how come his mind be blank?! 

Link looked up, his eyes following the many, many compartments for teeth along the walls of the surrounding slim towers. He made himself count these holes. His way to keep his head clear and his emotions at bay. 

“I woke up from this deep slumber a Sheikah woman named Impa put me through one hundred years ago. All the way in the great plateau.” 

Tooth nodded; she knew that place. No one had lived up there in centuries. 

“In the last battle against Ganon, I fell. I died, better said. But the shrine of resurrection brought me back… or, or prevented me from dying? I really don’t like to think too much about it.” 

Tooth gasped in horror. She knew something must have happened to the hero to be absent for one-hundred years. But… but this? It was way worse than what she had once thought. 

“You remember how you died.” she said carefully, the word leaving a foul taste in her mouth. “What else do you recall of your last life?” 

It was a hard bet he remembered much of it, she already suspected he must have forgotten about trivial things like his training or where he used to live. But the people he loved… 

Dear Farore! He must at least know about them, no? Their faces. Their voices. While the mind forgets, the heart does not. She implored she was right and Link could at least recall Revali and his other champion friends. 

He smiled ruefully at the ground, and somehow. That was all Tooth needed to understand the worst had come to pass. 

“If not for Impa and other people. I wouldn’t even know my own name.” 

She let out a breath she did not know she was holding. 

“I… I see.” 

*+*+*+* 

Tooth let Link stay and rest inside that courtyard, it was dark and isolated. And perhaps others would find it terrifying to stay for more than necessarily needed. But she knew he probably needed to remain in solitude for a while. 

She announces she would be leaving so Link could rest, yet the kid bolted at her words and winced a bit. Still hurting from the least grave of his injuries, the ones Tooth had run off of red potion for. 

Tooth approached to scold his recklessness but Link held her reaching wrist and pleaded with desperate eyes to please help him remember. 

“You said you would aid me in my journey.” He reasoned in desperation. 

“Please, this is something I terribly need, Tooth. Please!” 

She felt the boy tremble and probably at the verge of tears once more. And, how could she disclose to him such a feat was impossible to her as of now? 

Maybe in the past they would have had a chance. Maybe at some other point before the calamity she could have brought back his memories. 

But she was so powerless now. Her overall strength a mere fraction of what it once was. 

Sadly, she had to tell him the truth. 

“Link. I would love to help you.” She started, and before Link’s hopes could go up any more than they already did (if his relieved smile was anything to go by) she stopped him. 

“But I’m afraid my powers don’t permit me doing such nowadays.” 

She took from the sash of her hip a big shiny ruby. The biggest Link had ever seen. And placed it in front of him. Her face showing sadness and bitterness. 

She opened her beloved ruby box and inside, a solitary dull tooth stood amidst the crimson encasing. Before Link could interrupt her with questions, she spoke. 

“Behold” she mocked with bitterness and a broken voice. “The item that allows me to awake the memories of children. Dulled and rendered powerless by the Calamity.” 

Link panicked, just mentioning the Calamity was enough to make him understand nothing good will come from that. 

It meant that his only hope had been killed long before he could even use it. 

No. 

No! that can’t be true. Tooth must have another way to make people remember right?! She was the guardian of memories, wasn’t she?! She had some other means than just a rusty old box with a disgusting, rotting old tooth on it, no?! 

This was all a joke, wasn’t it?! 

He bolted upwards, tossing Tooth’s hand aside with discontent. The guardian glared at his disrespectful behavior, but she said nothing. She knew his hopes were completely crushed now. 

“There’s a reason why I stopped collecting teeth and started taking responsibility for the spring instead.” Says the guardian harshly. 

“Your friend Zelda is not the only one entrapped by the Calamity’s clutches.” Closing the box bitterly, she observed the boy glaring at her and tightening his fists by his sides. He was mad; mad at her perhaps, at his situation, at the calamity... 

She could understand those feelings rather well. 

“The Man in the Moon. My boss and servant of Hylia. He’s been captured by the Calamity and his home used as a catalyst for the revival of Ganon’s army at each blood moon.” Confessed the woman with a pang of hurt in her heart thinking of the fate of her former friend. She may not think so high of him now. But still, she would not wish such a destiny to anyone. 

“With his capture, my ruby box stopped reacting to my magic. This tooth is his, you see. And that’s the catalyst that enables me to awake people’s memories. Without Mim’s power. There’s nothing I can do to help you, or the children in this regard.” 

Sighing, Tooth remembered why she was so hard upon herself these past centuries. Why she hated being so powerless, helpless and alone. 

Link took a moment to compose himself, and think of the information given to him. She had the magic needed to make this old tooth work, right? So, if the tooth was a catalyst. Didn’t that mean that she could use that same magic but with a different catalyst? There was still hope! 

“Uh?” 

Tooth saw Link come closer once more and grab her unoccupied hand between his. He implored, begged at her with his eyes to try. To think of some other means to help him. 

She was the guardian of memories. But for the first time in her life. Her title was meaningless, useless. 

She felt so helpless for both their sakes. 

“I’m sorry Link. Even if I could, I would need your teeth from when you were a child.” Pain crossed her features once more. 

“All the teeth I collected before the calamity were stolen or destroyed by a past enemy of mine.” She gulped, fighting back the voice inside her head that told her time and again just how useless she was, how weak; how insignificant. 

Tooth motioned with her head in a solemn way for Link to follow her, the boy doing so quietly. She guided his hand to one of the lower compartments for teeth on the nearby slim tower and encouraged him to open it. Inside, there was nothing. 

Link looked hopelessly at the empty space and then at Tooth and back again. She averted her gaze in shame and with a gesture of her head, all the compartments in the surrounding five towers opened as well. All of them either empty or with some remains of white dust inside. 

“Your teeth. Even Zelda's and the champions’ too.” She recited quietly into the wind. 

“All of them are gone.” 

Link broke his hold on the woman’s hands and looked at her with anger and disappointment. There was so much pain in his accusatory glance Tooth could almost feel it mirroring her own. 

“Link…” 

He didn’t want to listen to anything anymore. He wanted out, he needed to leave, NOW! 

Some help she had turned out to be. 


	5. His name's Revali.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's new chapter. Hope not to have too many errors this time :C  
> I hope you like and enjoy!

Tooth let the boy leave despite the darkness in the vault areas. She knew he would find his way because there were lights shining elsewhere to guide him. Case in point, the Luminous stone’s veins found all through her abode. As such, she did not think Link needed her to go back the way he came. Nor did she have the energy or desire to follow him with how things had turned out. 

She stood there, illuminated by the embers of the fire she had lit for him earlier. In her sadness, she could not feel their warmth. 

The loss of the teeth had been the lowest blow Pitch could have ever enacted upon her. Their destruction being the last straw for her; at the time, frail spirit to withstand. 

Pitch had called her weak that day. Had made fun of her current situation, of her loneliness and her insistence of maintaining a duty she was no longer in need of carrying out. 

_ “Please Toothiana, don’t tell me you still believe you can keep children safe by yourself? How long has it been? Two, three centuries?”  _

He had been close in his assumption, but both knew it had been more time than that. 

_ “None of your guardian friends remain with you to ease your precious children’s pain! You are the only fool who keeps doing her duty despite all of it being hopeless!”  _

Toothiana still remembers the first destroyed tooth. Just when Pitch stopped talking. Crushed to dust between his thumb and index fingers. There was nothing left. 

She fought back in a fit of rage, brought her swords to his neck and he retaliated with his scythe. Their fight was a dangerous dance of thunderous clashes of metal against metal. Her words of rage and disgust at everything he represented reverberated through her palace along his mocking, playful laughter. 

He toyed with her, not giving his all. She attacked in a fit of desperation and wrath, her emotions getting her the wrong kind of drive to fight. She usually relayed in them to give her the strength she needed. But, back then, there was just so much pain and sorrow in her heart for her to focus on her fight and let her see what Pitch was truly doing, playing with her and taking her attention all for himself. But why? Why come and attack her now? What did he gain with that? 

Their fight took them a long while to finish, but by the time the world had been claimed by darkness; Tooth had been defeated. Rendered powerless by the taking of the moon under the calamity’s grasp. Pitch smiled in triumph, his eyes alight with what she could only describe as satisfaction; satisfaction over seeing her defeated. 

It was then that realization dawned on her. He had purposefully delayed their encounter. He had never planned to obliterate her, no. Nor like when back in the day, he had fought against the entire group of guardians. Then, he had sought to destroy or incapacitate as quickly as possible. This hadn’t been his normal behavior. And Tooth should have known that since the beginning. 

She gasped desperately for air as she felt her strength vanish. Pitch smirked knowing such a thing will happen and used the blunt end of his weapon to throw her from their place in the air to the ground without mercy. A mocking smirk following her descend. 

She fell without a chance to pick herself up anymore. 

Laying on a heap over the stone floor in the middle of the Hylian vaults, she saw how Pitch’s nightmares devoured the teeth all around them – from the towers which security measures no longer worked – and took them away. In the distance, she heard the deranged laughter of their master relishing in her defeat. 

She had dared him to kill her then. Picking herself up to her knees before him. Challenging the monster with a defiant glare. 

_ “Nah”  _ was his response to her challenge. Turning around and passing one hand over the surface of one of the vaults in his retreat, clearly enjoying the thought that he, alone and in a single night. Had emptied them all. 

_ “I will let you live. Take it as an act of kindness from one former friend to another.” _ He chuckled when she called him a traitor, as if he had never heard that one before. And tutted her when her words promised revenge. 

_ “You better be careful, dear. Without your Mim friend here to empower you, how could you ever dream of surpassing me?”  _

He worked for the calamity (Tooth should have seen that one coming, honestly). One of its many servants. Sent to incapacitate her and leave her at her weakest so she could not prevent any of what had happened in Hyrule; so, she could not offer her aid. 

One would believe she’d had no calls on that battle. And they would be mostly right, for her duty is with children and children alone. And whatever happens to endanger them, case in point Pitch.

But, despite everything. Despite lacking any responsibility with Ganon and Hyrule’s plight. She still had a sole purpose to forget everything and fight, and Pitch knew it too. He knew about her friendship with champion Revali; knew that she would have abandoned her duty that day. Her own vows of secrecy no less! To fly all the way to Rito village and help his friend battle against the malice if she came to find out. 

Pitch knowing about her friendship with the champion had been a fatal mistake on her part, and because of that, the calamity targeted her; it targeted the teeth. 

And It took Revali’s life. 

She was a failure. A guardian of a long-lost era trying to survive and be useful in modern times that, dare she say it. Don’t need her anymore. She can’t protect the children, nor the spring. Or the jungle from those murderous monkeys. 

She can do nothing anymore. 

How dares her offer Link her aid?! 

The world needs Link, not her. She saved him so there’s that. But besides her role in his earlier rescue, who knows if she has some use for the hero? 

For Hyrule, or the children... 

*+*+*+* 

Link walks aimlessly through the palace, getting caught in dead ends and empty caverns. He hates this darkness; he hates this place and he hates Tooth. 

How was he supposed to leave again?! 

He hears it before he sees her. One of Tooth’s tiny creatures appears before him, he rolls his eyes at first, not in the mood to tolerate their high-pitched chirps. He dismisses her with a shake of his head and walks towards the next torch. 

She insists, following him around and chirping. Always chirping! 

Goddess he hates that sound! 

“Stop!” he cries out but regrets it as he is attacked by a coughing fit. His voice is not prepared for such a strain and he had used it too much already. 

Great, and all of that suffering for nothing. 

The small creature chirped (again!) this time in annoyance and poked Link in the arm. He was this close to swat her away when he noticed the small thing was pointing with her diminutive hand to a wall behind him. 

Link turned around, not surprised to find a mural there. He grunted and rolled his eyes. He was tired of this place; of its false hopes. He just wanted out. 

“Look, I don’t care about exploring anymore. Show me the way out or leave.” He hissed at the small being, refusing to concede her request of looking at whatever image on the wall. He grabbed at his temples, feeling a headache coming. 

The small creature huffed and chirped some more, refusing to give up her attempts to make Link just look at the mural behind him. 

Mid-way through her efforts, Link rolled his eyes once more and dismissed her with a wave of his hands, resuming his walk through the palace. Maybe he could ask another of these creatures for help. 

Offended she had been so easily brushed aside, the little birdie followed Link, sending a call for aid to her other small sisters. Without Link’s notice, a swarm of mini fairy like creatures blocked his path and through pecks and incessant noise made him turn around and just look at the mural! 

As Tooth’s servants and (sort of) minuscule copies of herself, these creatures knew about Link’s absent memories. If their lady knew, they knew as well. And unlike their master, they did not harbor any shame in getting near the “banned” murals of this part of the palace. 

If those helped Link somewhat, where their lady could not. Then, they would use them without a doubt. 

He protested the whole way. Huffing and grunting and screaming to be let go, but they did not relent. They were as stubborn as their lady Toothiana, back when their master was young. 

Face to face with a cryptic image he could not see due the darkness, Link grunted and crossed his arms annoyed beyond measure he was still wasting time inside this dilapidated place. Groaning, he looked up and told the creatures. 

“What do you want me to see? It’s way too…” 

But before he finished, the tiny things took small pieces of luminous stones from their pouches at their hips and flew all the way towards the wall, circling the picture and bathing it on a bright bluish hue. They waited for Link to follow their lead. 

Curious and furrowing his brow. Link came closer so he could get a better look at the details. What he was seeing could not be real, could it? 

There she was, Toothiana, guardian of memories or whatever (Link was still mad at her) holding her twin curved blades and… the shadowy figure he had seen while passing by that other mural near the Tooth sanctuary the first time. 

There was another character next to her, however. The one that made Link actually pause and squint his eyes as he got closer to get a better view of the picture. There, holding a very curious looking bow and an arrow pointed at their adversary, stood a giant bird. 

_ ‘A Rito’ _ his mind supplied, and Link could do nothing but stare at this Rito figure. 

Due to the quality of the light, the figure of this Rito looked dark but not as much as the enemy he and Toothiana were facing. He could at least make out his eyes as green and his scarf was a light blue with a familiar white symbol on it – though not too detailed – which he could instantly make out as the mark of a champion. 

That face – although lacking much detail – Link was sure he knew that face. He knew this Rito. But unlike with Mipha. His mind did not provide a memory for it. Whom was he from among the champions? 

Blinking a few times, Link looked up at the small creatures holding the stones around the mural. He pleaded at them with his eyes. He wanted to see more. 

“Are there… are there any more like this. With... with the Rito on them?!” the birdies looked at each other and happily chirped back an affirmative answer. Well, must have been a yes, because next thing he knows; they moved to the left along the wall showing him another mural overridden by darkness. 

This one had Tooth and the Rito shaking hands quite like comrades in arms. Above their heads a design of what Link could describe as a spider web inside a circular dark frame, which was the first thing to draw his attention. Three feathers dangled from the framed web, and behind this weird design. A single arrow passed through with the head directed towards the Rito’s side. 

He understood these murals less and less the more he looked at them. 

“Who is him?” he asked up at the many creatures, who then had the gall to look affronted and shake their heads at him. So, they had no problems pecking and tugging at Link to do their bidding, but they cared about the privacy of whoever that Rito was? 

“His name’s Revali.” 

Link perked up at that answer, the creatures above his head chirped in fright and made themselves scarce. Everything got swallowed up by darkness for a moment until the newcomer came closer and her torch illuminated their surroundings. It was Tooth. 

Despite himself, Link glared. 

Tooth looked at the boy with what he could only call pity in her eyes. 

Moments earlier, one of her girls had come to get her because the boy had wandered somewhere way off the right path, even with the lights and everything. And, Tooth worried he might get even more lost if he ended up in the areas of her palace without any illumination whatsoever, case in point. This very one where he, indeed, had got himself lost. Because of it, she had reluctantly decided to go back and face the heartbroken young man once again and get him back the right path.

She should have never let Link go alone. No matter how awful she felt, that hadn’t been a wise decision.

Though, she’s not known to think things through most of the time. If Bunny’s words are to be believed, and, as years go by. She reluctantly agrees they are.

“You really did lose all your memories, didn’t you?” She whispered in painful disbelief. The champions had been Link’s companions, some even his friends. And, quite frankly, she still held hopes of Link being able to recall them upon sight, but it seems that was not the case. 

Truly sad indeed, if not unfair. 

Link scoffed. 

“I already told you, I did.” 

She hummed her agreement and came closer to the mural herself, her torchlight helping a bit more to make out the colors of the pictures. This “Revali” champion had a deep blue plumage. Nor black as he had though, and by some reason, the color alone tugged harder at his mind. Maybe if he had a more detailed picture, like with Mipha’s statue. His memories could come to him faster. 

“One of the four champions of Hyrule, and a dear friend of mine. Though knowing Revali, he would just consider me an acquaintance.” She laughed without mirth, and Link knew by her expression that the idea did not sit well with her. 

“It’s been a long time since I watched these murals.” Whispered Tooth for herself, a hand coming to rest below the drawing of her and Revali holding hands. 

True, she had stopped coming because she felt a failure. Her dear friend after years upon years of solitude was lost because of her uselessness. Because of her delay in coming to his aid, for she had wasted her time with Pitch while somewhere, far away, Revali needed her. And the calamity took his life in the meantime of her own battle. 

She could never forgive herself that huge mistake. Nor did she dare think about Revali at all, longing for the Rito would be hypocritical; would be disrespectful for a friend she had sworn to protect, but failed to do so in the end. 

Yes. That had been the reason why she had taken away the torches from these halls as well as gotten rid of the luminous stones’ mines. She wanted to forget all of it, bury the pain from it all. And, sadly. Bury Revali’s memory alongside it. 

She did not deserve to remember him as a friend. 

“Did you know?” She started in a thread of voice, just for her ears and Link’s alone. “That out of all the races in Hyrule, Rito are not one I can personally help?” and she felt the air leave her lungs and a knot bubbling in her throat. Another failed mission for the supposed guardian of memories. Protecting Rito village from Pitch. She had needed help in the end, hadn’t she? 

Link frowned his whole face in confusion. He did not know what Tooth was going on with this conversation, why tell him any of this? 

“I know, I know. I look a lot like them. How ironic they are the only race I don’t help.” Her gaze fell as well as her rueful smile. “My powers, even in the best of times are limited, Link. I need teeth to work with. And Rito do not have teeth.” 

Not waiting for Link to answer, she turned her gaze back to Revali’s drawing, her entire focus on her once good friend. 

“Revali always mocked me for that. He said I was too lazy to not have discovered a way to serve the Rito as well as the other races already. That I should look for other alternatives.”

Her voice drifted off at that, suddenly remembering despite the shame she feels regarding her once good friend. All the anger, the desperation and the accusations thrown at her by Revali back then. 

He was tired of the shadow that came each night and preyed on Rito chick’s fears like a leech. He demanded Tooth time and again to solve it or tell him how to do it himself, for she obviously didn’t care enough to solve the problem with the necessary haste it needed. 

They butted heads often. Tooth telling him he had not the necessary means to fight against a being like Pitch. And Revali, aching to prove each and every single one of her words false, hung around whenever Tooth patrolled the village at night, his bow in hand and a glare directed at her, challenging the woman to try and send him away. 

If she did, he would not comply. 

That’s how they both worked together back then, pushing the other’s buttons until one of them exploded, usually it was Revali the first to succumb to their interactions. 

He was stubborn, headstrong and passionate about his village’s safety. And he would  **not** take a no for an answer. 

They had managed to formulate a plan and work in tandem in the end. And their friendship only grew from that point onwards. Or that’s what she liked to think. 

Pestering Tooth had only been one of his favorite past times, and after the deed with Pitch was done, she visited him rather frequently at Rito village. 

He would mock her with her inability to serve the Rito, taken as proof that they were the superior race for they didn’t need magical imposed _ babysitters _ . And, despite knowing he was just being a jerk for the fun of it. Revali always made her remember afterwards, when the joke died down. Just why Tooth liked this Rito from among all the others. 

Under his unapproachable exterior laid and attentive and diligent friend. One whose standards of perfection in all he did, not only applied to himself but also the people he surrounded himself with. Tooth included. 

He wanted, deep down. To be the best friend he could for her, even when he denied it. 

_ “Well, despite our superiority I’m sure having our younger generations’ memories safe would not be too much of a precaution to have, right?”  _

Then, all at once. Like lightning striking a solitary old three in the middle of a storm, her memories about Revali came back to her. Precious remembrances she had decidedly locked away many years ago in respect of his falling, in shame of her defeat; for the pain of the loss. 

_ “You can’t give up merely because the first time you tried it didn’t work.”  _ He would sneer at her, a pile of Rito chicks’ feathers laying uselessly on her hands. 

_ “Maybe our “baby feathers” don’t work like baby teeth. So what? Is that all? Will you give up?” _

She hated when he looked down at her with his accusing words and harsh glares, but she knew what he was getting at. He firmly believed there was something she could do to help the Rito, and after what had happened with Pitch, he had been rather strict with Tooth. Worrying there could ever be a second time. 

He would not let Picth prey on his village  **ever** again. 

_ “Revali, enough! This is ridiculous my powers won’t activate without teeth. My ruby box doesn’t...” _

_ “Who cares about that old thing Toothiana?! You are a guardian of memories. A warrior whose strength comes from within yourself. Relaying too much on it is limiting you. You hear?” _ He sighed and looked elsewhere, perhaps noticing her annoyance but silent acceptance of his harsh truths. 

_ “I don’t hang around weak pathetic people, Tooth. Don’t prove my assessment of your strength wrong.” _ He had taken flight away from her after that, knowing she had closed off and would most probably not answer to his jabs and questions. Her powers and her worth as a guardian still was a sore topic for her even when around Revali, her only friend back then. 

_ “Who else if not you, a literal guardian of memories, to surpass this little predicament? You can do more than what you already can now. Just try!” _

Just try, he had said. 

And try they did, for a long, long time without positive results. But then again, Revali belonged to a race she had never served before; who didn’t even possess teeth. But Link right here, despite not having any baby teeth for her to work with; despite him being an adult already; and despite her ruby box being a useless trinket. He had teeth, those Tooth could work with, and. Knowing Revali (who seemed to be judging her with the eyes of his painted selves) he would scowl at the thought of Toothiana giving up on a task merely because she thought it impossible. 

_ “Is not what we believed back then!” _

He would say. And she, in turn, would turn her gaze away in shame. 

How could she have failed his memory so? 

Link silently came to her side should she decide to ask him something. Besides, he wanted to leave after this whole conversation ended, and she was the one with a torch and directions. So, he had to wait for whatever trance that befell her to be over. 

“So be it…” She whispered, eyes alight with what Link could only call fondness. 

“Even when you’re no longer around, you manage to snap me back into focus. Don’t you, Revali?” Came her soft inquiry while caressing Revali’s drawing with a far-away smile on her face. 

“Link” She started, looking at the annoyed young man besides her. 

She knew she had already rejected his request. But she could not let herself fall into old habits and quit just because she had lost faith in her powers, in her skill with teeth. If Link and her meeting meant something, either coincidence or destiny. She believed it was the wakeup call she needed to stop lapping at old wounds and come back from her inactivity. 

She will not let Link, nor Revali down. The Rito had put his faith in Tooth once and she still needed to show him it had not been for naught. No, she needed to believe she could do this. 

Link needed her, her powers the only hope for this Hylian young man she had once collected teeth from. And because of her misstep with Pitch, his baby teeth were now gone. 

She owed him this. 

Taking a deep breath, Tooth looked down at Link, her brow set in a firm determinate line. 

“Do you still want me to help you bring back your memories?” 

All Link could do as a response to her sudden offer, was looking at Tooth as if she had grown a second head. 


	6. Let me see those pearly whites

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay everyone! I know I said the idea came to me FAST! but just as fast it has evolved and changed so much I have to keep up with what I have written so far for it to make sense with the new stuff. I can't tell you how many chapters worth of text I have deleted, rewritten and deleted once again, only to bring something consistent here.  
> *Takes a deep breath*  
> Anyway. Here we go!

“Forgive me for my negative earlier. But I had forgotten an important lesson Revali once taught me.” She let out a mirthless laugh, something he had come to (sadly) associate with Tooth. 

“How’s that for a literal guardian of memories, uh?” 

He knew she was depreciating herself, but Link seriously didn’t know what to say to that so he just nodded his head and kept following the woman back to the sanctuary of teeth. He had thought about perhaps asking her to explain herself before going anywhere. But honestly, he doubted she would listen to him seeing her relentless disposition to take him there to begin with, besides. Her mood did not seem to be the best at the moment. 

Maybe asking could wait, besides. Wasn’t the teeth sanctuary close to an exit? 

“Anyway. We are getting close.” Looking back at him, she nodded and kept flying ahead, lost in thoughts. Perhaps she should have paid better attention to his guest, for Link already felt fatigued by all the running around he had done for the day. 

True to her words, Tooth managed to herd him back into the teeth sanctuary in a matter of minutes. Back to the first mural Link ever saw in clarity of Tooth and the children and the courtyard of jewels. 

“Link. I was serious before when I asked you about your memories.” Started Tooth, slowly landing on the platform with her jeweled picture. 

“I know I’m not as powerful as I once was, or… perhaps useful.” That was the hardest part for her to confess, but shaking these thoughts aside, she turned her attention towards Link, who was slowly coming closer to her a bit out of breath. 

She silently thanked Farore she had had a few potions with her when he came injured earlier, for if he was still severely hurt, Tooth would have chastised herself for not noticing she perhaps was pushing him too much. 

She winced in shame for her lack of attention to his state of health. Yes, she had managed to save Link but he still was hurt (mildly) and probably not in the best condition to walk for such extended periods of time. 

Bunnymund, for once. Had been right when saying Tooth could be rather careless for allowing herself to indulge so often in her thoughts and reminiscing about the past. A flaw she had to learn to correct unless she wished awful results for everything she did or everyone she engaged with. 

Dispelling such thoughts (for now was not the time). She waited for Link to come closer and then gently grabbed him by the shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. 

“I have decided I will do whatever I can to help you restore your memories, Link. But you have to make that choice. If you want to trust me still and work together, that is” Tooth waited for the information to sink on the blonde’s head, he looked up at her with furrowed brows and casted his glance elsewhere in doubt. She could not blame him. 

Though she felt a tad bit disappointed. 

“But if you refuse and prefer to continue your quest without us. I understand” Despite her gloomy emotions regarding his distrust, she managed to give him a warm smile, even if only a small one. 

She made a motion with her hand after she said those words, and, out of the rock of the mountain, a door opened up behind Link. 

“You may leave through this door if that’s what you desire.” 

She nodded her head once her speech was done. It was up to Link now. Will he accept the help she was promising even though it could potentially draw back his quest seeking a solution for his amnesia? 

Link himself had his doubts about the whole thing. For one, he did not fully trust Tooth, not with all the excuses and negatives and half-truths she had said before. Besides, he had the pictographs on the slate, no? And he could get his memories triggered through other means during his travels. 

But he knew not all of his memories would come back to him. Only those he could get from the specific moments shown by the slate of the places he visited. But what about his family? His home? His life before meeting Zelda, before the champions? 

Now that he thinks about it… Will giving Tooth a second chance be so bad? If it meant he could have back most of his old self, he thought it really wouldn’t be so bad. 

He kind of liked that idea already. Of not being only Link. The hero, the champion. But also Link, the person. The Hylian he used to be before all of this started. 

He wanted them all, he wanted to be of use to Zelda, but also to feel his own person. 

The slate won’t give him that. 

Steeling his resolve, Link stared long and hard at Toothiana, his eyes reflecting a fiery determination not unlike what Tooth had witnessed in their own guardian of courage centuries ago. It almost made her tear up at the remembrance, but she stopped herself on time. 

She had already mourned her fallen companion when it happened. Now, it was not the time for crying. Not anymore. 

Link nodded his head after a while and offered Tooth a lopsided smirk. The woman shook her head but returned the gesture with a grin of her own. 

“Very well, Link. Now, open up your mouth! Let me see those pearly whites.” 

*+*+*+* 

Tooth hummed in concentration while Link gagged and whimpered in horror and disgust by having her hand literally shoved inside his mouth. He whines and complains when she moves it around and feels his teeth, every single one of them with caution and a gentle touch. Though she was firm and methodical. She was looking for something. 

Usually, Tooth will grab a baby tooth from any children, and, due the magic of her box ever present around her, will liberate the repressed memory within. Ideally, she didn’t even need to touch the teeth, for her magic was that powerful. Only willing the ruby box to act over a certain set of teeth was more than enough from her part. 

But here, with a foreign type of teeth, she thought perhaps direct contact with the subject was the best course of action. And she was not totally wrong. 

“Yes.” She whispered with her brows furrowed, remembering what Revali had asked her years ago. 

_ “Can’t you feel anything?”  _

No. With the Rito, she didn’t. Those chick feathers brought to her by the champion didn’t stir any response from Tooth’s magic. Fallen feathers did not equal fallen teeth, it seems. And she was not able to awaken any memories from them. 

But here, with Link. Permanent teeth were kind of the same as baby teeth. And with that, Tooth could work. Sure, the teeth resisted her magical input and she theorized that even with her ruby box fully operational. Awakening the memories from these bad boys will still be quite the challenge. 

But Tooth will not give up. She will not give Pitch reason in saying that she was useless and let Revali’s memory down in the meantime, no. 

She had come this far; she could feel the teeth react but faintly. She had a small hope. 

And for Farore she will see this one through! 

Link babbled during her intense prodding and got a hold of her hand tugging weakly to get her attention. Snapping back into present times, Tooth noticed that her hand had gone a bit too deep into the Hero’s mouth and he was now gagging. 

With a gasp of utter shock, Tooth brought back her palm and shook it off from saliva. Link brought one hand to his stomach and wheezed for air as he coughed doubled over in discomfort. 

“I’m sorry Link. I lost my focus for a second!” 

He held up one hand, waving it around in an uncaring manner. 

Tooth sighed, knowing Link did not hold her little slip up against her. 

“Good news, Link. It seems that it will take a bit more effort from my part, but I’m sure I can wake some of your memories. Mind you, I’m not sure these will be the memories you want or need. But there’s a big amount of repressed memories in here.” She said pointing to her own teeth for clarification. Obviously meaning Link’s own. 

“Now, the bad news. As you know, I need a catalyst to help me awake those memories. And since I lost most of my power because of the calamity, we will need a huge amount of magical energy. And, quite frankly, I know not of a physical item that could contain the amount of power we require.” 

Link sighed in disappointment but not in defeat; they had gone from cero to something in the last few hours since he had first asked her, and he couldn’t be more thankful for her efforts. He kind of felt bad about thinking lowly of her when he left her behind at the vaults. 

He had to make it up to her somehow, because despite leaving in rage and disappointment earlier, perhaps even disrespecting her in the process. She still came back to him, and still offered her aid. Not giving up on his case; not giving up on him. 

“I know.” Continued Tooth with a sympathetic smile, believing Link’s guilty look for how he treated her before, meant instead that he had indeed lost all hope on their little project. She, in turn, tried to remain upbeat and positive for them both. She had to be strong when things looked grim in these memory affairs. If the expert had doubts, then how will Link feel then? 

She forced herself to remain as calm and collected as she could. 

“But don’t worry, we will figure something out! Now that I have an idea of what we need, perhaps I can send my girls to scout around Hyrule and bring me any information if such a force exists out there.” Mentioning this, a group of her creatures swarmed around her out of nowhere and started chirping enthusiastically along her words. Some even looked directly at Link and gave him a thumbs up in agreement. 

That scene made him crack a smile, if he’s being honest. 

“Don’t worry, Link.” Said Tooth, her gaze warm and relaxing like the dancing embers of the torches around them. 

“You’re not alone in this.” 

His eyes widened by those words. Again since knowing her, Toothiana had managed to touch his heart with her words, hitting hard when it hurt the most for him. 

He felt tears forming by the corner of his eyes, but wiped them dry with his sleeve before he got even more sentimental. This was not a moment to cry, this was a joyous occasion. 

Without thinking, Link beamed at Tooth with equally warm eyes like hers and outstretched his hand towards her, then, he brought it back to his chest and he bowed his head with his eyes closed. 

Tooth gasped. 

“You can speak in Signs?” 

That… baffled him, honestly. 

Had he used Sign language just now? 

Tooth shook her head. What an unexpected surprise to have someone quite like Sandy back into her life. 

“At least unlike him, you do speak as well.” 

Link rubbed the back of his head and shrugged at his host conveying an apology. Sometimes he didn’t know what Tooth was talking about, and right now, he ignored what she meant by him, but he supposed she could refer to an acquaintance or a friend. 

Wait! That would imply she knew...! 

“Do you understand hand signs?” because if she did. Hylia be blessed! Another person who could save him the trouble of using his voice! 

To his dismay, Tooth sighed and shook her head. 

Yes, Sandy may have used signs, but she was way better reading his sand drawings than those hand gestures. That’s why, after the first decade of knowing them all, Sandy had stopped using hand signs entirely and switched to his drawings. So Tooth and everyone else could catch up to him. And even then! North had been the best at translating what Sandy wanted to say most of the time.

And Tooth is the most apologetic she can be regarding the issue to Link at present times. She, for some reason,was ashamed she had taken North’s skills and aid in communication for granted all those years ago and neglected learning. It was not like she spent much time around kids to communicate with them (seeing how they were all asleep while she performed her duty). And, people who couldn’t speak or choose not to were never that prolific in Hyrule.

Regardless, she should have made an effort to learn. If only because that was the only language she could not understand of all the others in existence in the whole world. 

“Sorry Link, I never truly learned.” 

Well… Thinks Link, there it goes for hoping. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. What a weird way to end a chapter. And I'm not pleased regardless, but meh. At least I get to play a bit more with Tooth's character.  
> And speaking of! It is known in the books that the sisters of flight can speak every language out there, be it human in nature or from the animal kingdom. However, I thought that at least she needed to have a flaw with that skill. Like c'mon, how convenient!  
> So, Tooth may SPEAK every language, but sign language is not 'spoken' per se. So that's a manner of communication she is not familiar with.  
> Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. We have to start learning, dear. Sooner rather than later.


	7. So… We were all friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter comes in late but for the people actually enjoying the story, I'm sorry. I had issues regarding the whole plot, I know how I want this to end, getting there without screwing anything seems a titanic task. But I really want to see this one through.  
> Ooon the bright side though. A longer chapter? Yay?!  
> Well, I hope it's enough for the long wait at least.

After their mutual agreement of helping Link find a catalyst for his memories, Toothiana actually beamed at him in excitement, proud she could once more be helpful for someone else. She saw in Link's eyes a glimmer of hope and even gratitude swimming behind them. It made her smile.

When was the last time she teamed up with someone else like this? Well… In amicable terms that is, from the very beginning? 

Nostalgia swells inside her chest when she remembers her adventures with the Guardians, how exciting finding new ways to connect with children was to all of them, to see their hard work pay off and see them smile! She celebrated each time Jack broke into a heartfelt laugh whenever a kid liked a new game of his, and they continued to play it. Whenever North's crafts received love and use by their young owners. 

She hadn't noticed how much she missed those moments between her and her friends. And not only her friends themselves. 

She lets out a long breath of air, reminding herself her priorities lie with Link now and she must tend to him, She knows he's been through a lot today (in just one day!) and he needs his rest. That said, maybe she should remind the hero about the time. 

“You could stay here if you need to, Link.” She said softly to the darkened atmosphere of the Sanctuary of Teeth. Link, in return, frowned at her, clearly puzzled by the change of topic.

“I mean, It’s dark outside again. We spent almost all day wandering my halls and it’s way too dangerous to attempt resuming your travels right now.” 

And… Yes, she had forgotten that for Link, telling time would be hard inside her halls for it was perpetually dark inside, though Toothiana had come to learn reading the passage of time by other means because of this through the years. That didn't mean Link would be able to do the same as her. She had been accustomed to this for so long she forgot other people didn't possess such an ability; that Link couldn't possibly know it was nighttime already. 

Link looks up at her with wide worried eyes. Evidently, he hadn't planned to spend such a large amount of time cooped up inside her palace, perhaps he had somewhere else to be already? And, as the hero, it was of vital importance to attend to his journey and quest first and foremost. Though Tooth knew she could not live with a clear conscience knowing she had sent Link on his merry way at night. 

Out there in the jungle was dangerous, you never knew when the next monkey gang would appear (if at all, thanks to Tooth's efforts to purge the jungle from them through the years), when the weather would decide to go from bad to worst and throw lighting at you. What if today was a blood moon night? Will Link be able to deal with the revived monsters running amok once again through the jungle? 

No, thanks! She won't take any risks. He almost died today had it not been for her intervention, and Link may not have any issues by going back out there and face such dangers on his own anew, but Tooth did care! 

The face he makes when presented with the offer of staying makes Tooth send him a glare of her own. She knows he thinks about leaving, even with all the inconveniences both of them know lie out there in waiting for the hero to commit a mistake. She knows he's not prepared (skill wise) to take upon the same trials as before. And she won't take a no for an answer. 

"I'll bring you a pillow and some sheets. Wait for me here." She says instead of trying to convince him. She's already taken the decision from him and Link can do little else but gape at her retreating form. 

But he has to get to Lurelin now! 

Well… seems it won' t be happening tonight. 

Toothiana was no fool, she knew that Link must be exhausted; overwhelmed, even. About everything that had happened, not only today, but through his entire journey. 

Now, adding to that the fact that the entire survival of Hyrule’s races depended on him completing said journey and you have a disaster waiting to happen. She doesn't know if Link takes care of his health as he should, but she at least can offer him a night of peaceful rest. Nothing can certainly perturb him here inside her halls, no dangers of the outside world dare enter her domain, even if she poses not a big threat at present times for many of the monsters but the monkeys… Those were Tooth's eternal enemies, and weak or not, she will see to it the jungle is purged from their existence. 

Link sighed when all he could do was sit down on the floor and mope the fact he would not be able to continue moving forward. Time was really not in his favor right now, and having spent so many days worth of time lost in the jungle only put more unnecessary stress to his already tight scheduled quest. 

Zora's domain still remained under the menace of constant rain. The villages downstream clearly hanging in there by the grace of the goddess alone for the reservoir not to have collapsed already. But he could do naught and worry than just one or even two days of extended absence could mean the destruction of the dam holding all that water at bay. 

He still had to adquiere the shock arrows from Lurelin, sure he managed to take some from the Lizalfos but he feared those may not be enough. Sidon had requested he steal twenty from the Lynel thing didn't he? Link barely had a dozen of stolen arrows to his name. 

He starts to regret ever choosing to come all the way down here to buy the stupid things, but what is done is done. He had been afraid of the Lynel back then, and he rather decided to get the arrows through a slightly safer plan than just  _ steal them while the Lynel is not looking _ . Like, had Sidon ever attempted to do it?! Link saw the monster once, once! And upon being noticed and prosecuted and seeing all that raw fury directed at him, his brain screamed  _ plan B, plan B!  _

He hadn't had one at the time, of course. He ended up fumbling through the slate to take him somewhere safe, anywhere really! In the first stable he ever visited, the one closest to Kakariko (pft. Sure, it still was far away) and only then did he allow himself to think things through and formulate a better plan. 

Beedle, being the kind soul to remind Link he could buy shock arrows at Lurelin, just after Link bought Beedle's own stock of regular arrows. The man may be a merchant still but he liked Link (his best customer) and was always willing to help him adquiere wares even if it meant he would not be buying them from him. 

Link admired Beedle's kindness and that's why he always came back to buy from him, even if he didn't need the items he bought at all. Beedle was his friend. and Link will continue repaying his favors to him in kin. 

Well, crying over spilled milk won't do, there's nothing he can do right now but wait for Tooth and hope he can leave and reach Lurelin early in the morning. 

+*+*+*+*+

Toothiana came back a bit later, her hands clutching an old ragged blanket and a pillow for Link, the best she could offer seeing how she rarely needed them and rarer still when she had to give them off to guests. 

Upon her arrival she found (much to her own astonishment) how the boy had managed to build a fire while she was away upon the rocky floor of the Sanctuary of teeth, an apple on a stick already cooking slowly over the fire. How had he done all that without supplies nearby?

Her face must have shown her bafflement because, next thing she notices, Link is giving her a side smile and beaconing her forward with his hand, another stick and apple already at his side, this one clearly done and ready to eat if its color says anything about it. 

Was he… Was he asking her to stay? spend time with her?

She contemplated if indulging the boy was a good idea, or if she should better give him the things she carried and moved away from him. Honestly, after everything that had come to happen with the people who grew to know and appreciate her, Toothiana was seriously against the idea of making any new friends. Her luck with those clearly was not the best out there.

Before she could decide, however. Link grabbed the baked apple at his side by the stick and reached it out in Tooth’s general direction. She looked at it already planning how to kindly reject the offer, yet Link’s smile and beaming eyes… 

_ Just like Jack’s… _

She couldn’t find it in herself to say no. Not if the knot in her throat had anything to say about it.

+*+*+*+*+*+

Tooth sat down by his side in defeat, her face long and eyes lost on her task of peeling off the soft apple’s skin. After she accepted his snack and stayed with him (on what Link planned to be his attempt at starting things over) Tooth had remained silent and distant, she even sat down a bit away from Link in the first place.

If Link didn’t do anything now… Tooth may end up eating and leaving. And, he doesn’t want that to happen; he doesn't want their relationship to be troublesome and awkward. If he had to stay here for the night, he will see to it he can at least get to know Tooth a little bit better. 

For some reason, the idea of having an  **_ally he can’t fully trust_ ** by his side, an ally who  **_runs from him and his company_ ** ; from  **_his presence_ ** , gives Link an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach, something that twists around it making Link pull off a grimace. 

Then, all of a sudden, something hits him hard inside his head, as if someone knocked inside it and made him focus only on that foreign sensation. The world blurs suddenly, He can see his surroundings no more and there’s white light pouring from the edges of his vision, rippling like the waters of a pond when it rains. 

A new image appears before his eyes, he sees some of their features and knows for a fact that they are  **not** Hylian because they look like a big bird of dark colors, though he can’t see their face in detail. It’s blurred, wiped out from his vision.

They are saying something to Link, making grand gestures with their wings as they talk, but then they stop as if mid-sentence, shake their head and take flight up and away from Link’s limited reach. The Hylian wants to cry out to them, tell them to stop, to come back; ask them for their name!

But then, they are gone, and Link is suddenly aware he’s still inside Punjam Hy Loo, with Tooth. And that his apple has burnt on its stick.

“Link?” She calls him, and he notices she must be worried (her face clearly says so) though he waves her worries away with one hand and goes to grab his slate by his hip so he can retrieve another apple… Perhaps a fish this time? 

He’s shaking. He hopes Tooth doesn’t notice. 

What was that vision he saw just now? Was the bird person Revali? If so, why did he act so… aggressive? frustrated? Wasn’t he a champion like Link? comrades, sort of friends?

Goddess, his head hurts!

Tooth frowns and scoots closer, knowing that whatever just happened with him clearly has something to do with a repressed memory (as if she didn't know the signals well enough!) and that it's bothering him still, though as soon as she sits down near him, her mouth gaping for a few moments of silence while she looks for the right words to ask Link about it. Link silences her with his hand before she can say a thing.

Link shakes his head at her and focuses on his task at hand instead, there is no need to dwell on a probable memory that is so vague. He… He’s dealt with enough things for today, maybe at a later date he will ask her, but for now he just wants to rest.

The sister of flight raises an eyebrow in disapproval. If Link's mind is trying to awaken a memory on its own, he should tell her so she can help him bring it to the surface now when he has someone who knows about these things!

Though, despite her intentions to talk some sense into the hero, she blinks a few times in confusion when all he says it's "Don't Tooth, please. Not now, it's been a long day." 

She supposes she can at least respect that. If Link feels the ordeal to be too much for him at the moment, she won't force him. Nothing good ever comes of such actions. 

When the matter does finally die down, Tooth can't help but steal a glance to what Link is possibly doing now that he's gone so quiet. However, her eyes grow wide in astonishment when she sees the boy taking out an  **entire** fresh fish from a piece of metal he holds with both hands. 

What  **_is_ ** that thing? 

He does his best not to laugh at the face she makes when she witnesses him pulling out food from the slate, He thought it a possibility whenever she came to witness such a piece of technology. But he didn’t suspect this would be the amusing result. 

He brings the slate closer to her, showing it in its full glory but does not hand it over (he would never hand it that easily to anyone after all). 

Then, it’s only a matter of time before Link is pulling more and more things out of it to show Tooth how it works and then brings the items back inside. She focuses her attention on the picture of a hearty Durian after a while, and Link then beams at her and summons one of said fruits for her. 

Toothiana gasps in wonderment and accepts the sudden gift, telling Link she loves Hearty Durians (they are her favorite fruits) and Link nodding in understanding.

When Link confesses he likes apples more than Durians though, and Toothiana laughs and suggests (in jest) not to get on a sister of flight bad side, less of all their queen by contradicting her. 

Link rolls his eyes but drops the argument in favor of placing his new skewered fish over the fire and Tooth peels away at her newly acquired fruit.

Her last words make him pause however, his brows meeting in the middle of his face in a frown of realization and horror sinking low in his gut. He turns his head towards her and then up, up, up towards the towering and darkened ceiling of the caves.

“Tooth?”

“Yes?” She asks softly, content with the fruit she now gets to enjoy despite the late hours. She is busy setting the seeds aside, so she doesn't get to see Link’s expression.

“Are there any more… You know… Sisters of flight here?” His voice wavers and cracks in the middle of the sentence. His eyes scan the place they are both tucked in ( _ The Sanctuary of teeth _ ) and he looks at Toothiana’s mural with her small avian creatures at the back of the room. Only a few feet away from where they sit.

She was alone in that depiction of hers and also alone in the one at the jeweled courtyard (currently behind them). Now that he thinks about it, in the murals he saw all day, not in a single one had Link seen someone like Toothiana that was not… Well Toothiana herself. 

The question drops over Tooth’s head like a ton of rocks, she feels herself shaking like she’s been hit with something akin to the freezing waters of November rains; her fingers push too hard on the piece of Durian she’s just grabbed from the big whole she’s given, successfully squashing it into a pulp due her nerves. 

She looks at Link, her eyes wide and attentive and fully regards his questioning blue ones and worried demeanor. She sees fear in those eyes, sees something she can perhaps draw parallels with guilt.

Why would he feel guilty?

Finally casting her glance away from him (giving each of them some semblance of space in such an awkward situation), she looks at the floor instead, and then she responds with the bitter and biting truth. 

“No, there aren’t. Not anymore.” 

_ She should perhaps look for something to clean her fingers from the juice… Yes, she should do it now. _

Link’s shoulders slack, but not in relief but defeat. Had his recovery, his one-hundred years of absence, caused Tooth’s people to disappear?

His uselessness… An entire race....

He feels sick.

_ He’s shaking _

Tooth hears rustling coming from Link’s side and finally looks up from staring at the cave floor while lost in her thoughts. What she sees mortifies her. 

“Link?” She asks in alarm. The boy’s eyes are wide, looking in front of him, his gaze lost somewhere past the mural of her and the children. His blue orbs are wide and look haunted by some mysterious force Tooth can’t decipher; his shoulders are shaking slightly and (she also notices) he’s lost his attention on his food that now is probably on the brink of burning (again).

Link jumps a bit when he feels Tooth’s hand grace his shoulder softly, barely there as if to not startle him in the first place (she failed). And looks at him with something akin to pity in her eyes.

He does not like that look.

“Whatever may be going on in your head” She says gravely, her voice firm and cold “ignore it. It’s no one’s fault that the Sisters aren't here anymore…”

_ She remembers the monkeys, the blood and death upon the spring’s courtyard floor as the sisters fight valiantly to defend it; their fallen bodies (of the sisters who couldn’t keep up) dissolving into wind and leaves and dust. _

_ “The queen has fallen tonight. And we, as her followers and subjects have failed her. We must follow her in death as well!”  _

She composes herself from her unwanted remembrance in a soft, bitter whisper. Then, she adds:

“Well, no one remains to put the blame on anyway.” She finishes, giving Link the best little smile she can muster. “Please, do not carry burdens that do not belong to you, Link. I appreciate the sentiment, really. But I imagine you have enough on your plate already.”

He still seems not convinced however, and Toothiana breathes in and says “If you must know though, It was not your fault or Ganon’s that the sisters are not here anymore. I hope that helps in some way.” 

Link remains quiet, yet regards Tooth in astonishment as she gets up and leaves his side. Her gaze is warm and understanding, yet something seems wrong, as if deep inside she feels different; as if this front she’s putting for him is just a facade.

He follows her with his gaze, his frown one of puzzlement.

Tooth manifests one of her fairies and asks her to seek and bring her a piece of cloth to clean her (now) sticky hand from the piece of fruit she ruined. She knows her tiny ones know this place as well as she does, if not better. Because at this time, she does not have enough clarity of mind to remember where things are.

The small fairy comes back after a while, and Tooth receives her offered rag with a small smile and a nod. She cleans her hand afterwards, unaware that Link has been looking at her the entire time.

“Are they not sisters of flight then?” He questions out of the blue, his voice is full of bewilderment and disbelief. Tooth turns her attention sharply from the rag she’s using to the lost expression Link is making, she fails to understand what he means.

“Excuse me?”

“Your girls. Are they not...” 

He doesn’t finish his sentence when the woman places a placating hand in front of her, successfully silencing the boy in his tracks. Toothiana ruefully calls another of her girls to her side where she stays, chirping happily at both of them.

“No, they aren’t.” She comments in a wistful whisper of someone who would like for things to be different from what they currently have as their reality. 

She extends one hand and the small bird girl stands on it, waving at Link in excitement, unaware of the somber atmosphere around them.

“It may be difficult to accept, at first.” She smiles tenderly, her eyes seeking the beaming ones of her tiny-self. 

“But I’m the only living creature that remains inside this palace. My girls, well… They are me, and I am them. We are one and the same.” With one of her fingers she pets the head of her small replica, the small girl smiling and chirping in glee, still ignorant of what goes around her. All she perceives is her lady’s fondness for all of them; for her sisters. She loves Toothiana as well!

“I create them with the little power I have left and they help me keep Punjam Hy Loo at its best… But, I tire after a while and by consequence they all just... disappear.”

As if to sustain her point, Tooth sends her tiny self away with a wave of her hand over the small girls' head, though Link can tell by Tooth's face that the action (the revelation of this truth) brings her no joy whatsoever. 

The small creature banishes in a puff that doesn’t even leave smoke or dust or something to indicate it was there in the first place, it just… blinks out of existence. 

Link's surely baffled by this sudden turn of events, seeing the small birdie go away as if it had never been there in the first place. 

He had played with them before, right? what did all of it mean then? Because, he had genuinely thought (in the beginning) that the tiny bird creatures were some sort of children from whatever species the sisters of flight were. But, no. They had turned out to be Tooth herself, a weird twist on the concept of self-company for sure.

Link honestly feels bad for feeling so freaked out because he can see Tooth is genuinely affected by his question. Dealing with whatever emotions this may have stirred as a consequence. 

Just now she’s finished cleaning her hand and throws the rag to the side, perhaps she does not feel in the mood to replace it back where the small birdie found it. 

“I guess it is time for us both to sleep.” she says in a low grim voice 

He knows she’s done hanging out with him for now; with his questions. But he can’t help but push a bit further, maybe not about her this time, but of a topic he genuinely feels curious about and no one has been able (up to this point) to give Link the information he seeks.

Before Tooth says her farewells and leaves him, he calls out to her and pleads her to wait. Tooth stops in her tracks and turns around with a dubious frown.

"Please just… please, tell me. Did you know any of the champions?" And he knows his question can be misinterpreted, because next thing, Tooth is perplexed and crosses her arms tights around herself. Clearly uncomfortable. 

"Well, I already told you I knew Revali. Did you just forget, or…?"

If it didn't make him seem like a moron, he would have face-palmed himself. Of course he needed to be more clear! 

"No! I mean. I'm fine, I… Yes, I remember that. It's just… Did you know any of the others?" 

Relieved that Link's amnesia seemed to revolve around his old self and did not present any threat to his post-awakening made memories, Tooth made herself drop her guarded stance and think on Link's question clearly, even if she did not desire to continue speaking with him any further. 

"No, I didn't." She mouthed slowly, her eyes downcast and apologetic. "At least not in the way I knew Revali, no."

Before Link's mood flopped however, she continued. 

"But Revali talked about you and your friends quite a lot, Link." and she gave Link a poor attempt of a smile in return, hoping to be of some help for the boy despite how little she could actually give him. 

"Friends? So… We were all friends." He had suspected as much, back in front of Mipha's statue, he had felt a certain fondness when recalling the lost princess. Perhaps it had been that way with them all. That they were good friends. 

Tooth's eyes part in wonderment and she gapes for a few seconds quite like a fish. She does not want Link to harbor false illusions or hopes that could ruin his memories of old. In fact, she shouldn't be talking about  **_any_ ** of the champions as it is. 

It's not that the champions weren't friends, per se. It's just that not everyone agreed on that regard. And if Link ever got to know about it from a stranger's mouth… Well, it would certainly create conflict with his old memories, when she helped him recover them.

He should be careful when asking about his past. 

"Well… That I can't tell, you all got along in very different ways, for sure." and she smiled in mirth recalling the way Revali went on and on about ' _ this person did this, this other did that'  _ or ' _ Tooth they just don't get it!'  _

But in the end she knew not all of his bitterness was to be taken at face value, and that he really appreciated his companions. Tooth even wondered if Revali considered them his friends deep inside.

By Revali's words, she understood their dynamics somewhat. Why, they were similar to the ones she maintained for so long with the Guardians. For example; Bunny, rejecting the signs of affection at face value, but he will always be nearby to offer his input whenever he could, even if there was nothing to be gained from it for him. 

Jack, who was a free-spirited individual, never staying too long in a single place, always wandering, exploring and spreading his influence all over Hyrule. Tooth never got to see Jack that much, nor spend much time with him, but she knew he liked to visit North the most, and he was the best to lift the mood of everyone else. 

North who became some sort of fatherly figure, a weird lovable uncle and a good friend for some, with his smiles and good advice. Joviality and fun always followed him around wherever he went and he made sure that everyone felt welcome and part of the  _ family  _ he strongly believed them all to be. Always willing to help, to be there for everyone… 

She feels her throat build up a knot and she stops, she can't do this. Not now, not when Link can see her. 

"But I want you to know this, Link. No matter what you may hear or find out there. Please don't be swayed by false rumors. The Champions were good people and they cared about you in their own special way. So, please, give them all a chance, alright?"

If he ever heard the tellings of "his and Revali's hatred" He would surely be severely disappointed in the Rito even before he could remember if that was remotely true! And Tooth didn't want the memory of her Rito friend sullied by those who didn't know him feeding Link lies and rumors. 

But, sadly, as it is for someone who deals with people's memories. She can't intervene and tell Link the truth about Revali's feelings either; his true intentions behind his actions and biting words. Because, in the end, she could end up reshaping and changing Link's own memories of the Rito, his true views about him. 

Whatever he thinks about Revali when he remembers him, it must come from his own memories, free of her external input. Though she knows other people won't be as careful as she is and will surely let their tongues loose over the spicy rumors saying Link and Revali were rivals or hated each other. 

The best she can do to keep things neutral, is to tell him to please be open minded and, to not believe everything others tell him about the Champions. 

That as much she can give to honor her long-gone friend's reputation and the other champions' as well. 

Honestly, Link was not expecting such dismissive comments about the Champions. He wanted to know them more like the people they were and not like the heroes everyone remembered them to be. He could certainly ask Sidon about Mipha in that regard, but who would disclose the rest to him? 

Link knew the champions each belonged to a different race, that as much he was told. But who was left in Hyrule who could have probably met them in person like Sidon did with Mipha? He doubted all races had such an extended lifetime as Zora's did. So, how could he get to know his supposed friends better? How to trigger his memories of them? 

Sighing, Link nods his head and agrees with Tooth's last request out of politeness. Because he already knew what mindset he should possess when addressing people he knows he should like but is not sure if he will. Like Zelda or the late king, he could not judge any of them no matter the feelings he may have now.

The memories that the slate shows him were not the greatest in depicting his friendship with Zelda (assuming they got to the point of calling each other friend). In truth, those memories he got from the slate hurt, more than he could admit. But maybe putting in some more work he could finally get all the missing pieces of his friends a hundred years ago. 

He would rather have those back by now, the other aspects of his life could wait until he and Tooth managed to find a way to awake everything else. 

Toothiana smiles at him and both end the conversation on a note that, even if it's not amicable, it sure is not tense or problematic for any of them. Tooth offers Link the things she brought with her (the pillow and sheets) and leaves after he's taken them and thanked Tooth for her kindness. 

Despite his words and warm (yet sad) smile. Tooth can't help but feel somewhat defeated. She knows Link has many trials and hard times ahead of him as the hero, she knows that Ganon's monsters are not the only threat looming out there looking to strike him down. But she can't help him any further, she had already garnished the scorn of Hylia for meddling with Link's destiny, that's a given. 

Heck, even meeting him had been a mistake on Tooth's part! 

She had even decided to tell Link as much as she could, about herself, about her job; even offering her aid with his memories for crying out loud! 

Of course Hylia would be mad! 

Toothiana wouldn't be here if Hylia truly had it after her, however. So she can count her blessings. 

She should not be careless, another bad move on her part and Hylia would condemn her the same way she and the other Goddesses had condemned the extinct race of Pooka to their doom centuries ago for their mocking commentaries toward the divine. 

That's why, no matter how much Link reminded her to her old companions (especially young Jack Frost) she had to set her emotions aside and think about her own survival first. She would not be useful to Link if she was removed from her duties as a guardian now, would she? 

Slowly, she drags her hand through the walls of her halls as she walks away from the Teeth sanctuary (now Link's resting place). All the while, she ponders on how best she could perhaps help the hero with his journey when (while her hand met a particular wall, skidding through a specific image depicted on the wall as a mural) she saw  **_him,_ ** menacingly making his presence known through the amber light of the flaring torches at either side of the picture.

She saw **Pitch Black** . 

Her gasp was quiet, barely even there to begin with, but her fear and concern clearly permeated the air and it showed. 

She schooled herself, however, when she noticed her state of being and dispelled any shameful reaction towards his depiction here on her halls. No matter how problematic their encounters, how horrifying his desires. Pitch would not get Tooth feeling afraid of him, ever. 

Because she knew him for what he truly was deep inside. A poor little unfortunate soul. 

He held his scythe behind himself in this image, his free hand pointed onwards signaling for his army of nightmares and fearlings to attack the group of five guardians in front of him. They all looked pretty impressive, the atmosphere intense even for how simple the drawings were. Though they told the entire story in just one quick glance of how it all started. 

The fact that Tooth was still alive to tell the tale served as proof of who truly had won that day. Though she is not a narcissistic fool as to believe their victory had been set in stone from the very beginning. The fight had been hardly won in the end, both sides even in their strength and might to win the fight. 

Pitch had truly been a remarkable opponent during the entire time he antagonized the Guardians, the worst enemy they had ever had and the strongest yet they had faced against. Tooth respected his power, yes (she would be a fool not to). The kind of respect she needs to have when facing against him and never forget to do so without a plan or precautions. He's never to be underestimated. 

Everything else about him though, she despised. 

_ He took everything away from her!  _

Pitch is still out there, this Tooth knows well. And only now that her circumstances with Link had been put to rest for the time being, does Tooth come to realize that she should have worried about Pitch's figure way sooner. 

He works for the calamity now, doesn't he? Of course his destiny would be aligned with Link's now, seeing how every monster serving under Ganon sought the hero's demise…

Could it be that Pitch had already antagonized the boy before? That he could be nearby spying on him? 

Not right now though. He had little reason to snoop inside her abode nowadays. After her defeat, Pitch had stayed strangely out of her case. Not even once attempting to burst into her palace and rub his victory in her face. Though through much pondering afterwards, did Tooth come to realize why this could be the case, and it all relayed in a single action taken by Tooth after the Teeth were destroyed.

She sealed her home (and by extension herself) away from the outside world.

Yes, Tooth had sealed away all of the entrances, nooks and holes that surrounded the mountain and passed as doors or windows to her domain. And even if this was futile in keeping Pitch away from her palace, at least it served to send the message of surrender. That she was done for and had no other means to protect herself but hiding away inside her halls. 

Maybe Pitch thought her defeat so pathetic he didn’t even consider Tooth worthy of his attention anymore (even if she was still alive). To him she was a broken guardian, a feeble woman who any day now will surely disappear on her own. Why without Mim or her friends to aid her, she surely was done for. She was pitiful and weak and not worthy of his time. She was no longer a challenge; no longer a pesky thorn on his side.

She knew he was doing as they did with him years ago and ignored her out of spite. She could almost hear him in her mind.

_ “Ah! Tooth. How the mighty have fallen. Who now makes for the sickly sight? Who now inspires nothing but pity?!” _

Cruel and clever bastard.

For how much it pained her to admit it, Link will be safe here thanks to Pitch’s arrogance and spite against Tooth. Safe as long as she keeps a low profile, paints the picture of a damsel in distress. As long as her halls remained shut and she appeared as the puny, defenseless warrior Pitch believed her to be, he had no reason to come look for anyone here. Nor Tooth, or Link. 

But, out there. In the wild. There's nothing that could potentially hold Pitch back, and if Link has been targeted by him already, he needed to be prepared. 

Dealing with Pitch was tricky. Mainly because you don't want the victim to  **believe** in Pitch; that is, believe he  **is real** . That could put you into a more vulnerable position than you could ever imagine, because Pitch was nothing if not adaptable. And, if he knew you tried to hide away from him, to protect something he wanted from you, the more he would double his efforts to take whatever it is he desired, be it your demise or any material belonging of yours. 

She has to thread carefully in these matters if she's to deal with that obnoxious leech. Hopefully, she can find a way to help Link in these new issues without her falling even lower from Hylia's grace and without disclosing Pitch's existence to Link. 

Tricky? Perhaps, but Tooth may just already know the perfect solution to both problems. 

Good thing her girls had shown her and Link those murals hours ago, for Tooth had even forgotten the beautiful gift that rested idle in wait for someone to use it properly again.

Well, it's not like it will see much use in her hands. Why not give it to Link then? 

Anything to keep Pitch away from the hero, from a young man who literally is the last hope of these dying lands. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. I don't know If it's noticeable, but I do like to world-build like... A lot, (ups?) So, maybe we will keep hearing more about Tooth and the guardians, but just barely, scratching the surface if you like. Just to let us know how they were part of this world, give their existence some sort of sense in here and to give Toothiana's character more flair than just being a tool for Link.  
> Hang in there everyone! this turned out to be slower than anticipated but I hope the next chapters can move forward a bit faster :p
> 
> Read ya later!


	8. Interlude - The whereabouts of the Dark one - Catastrophe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interlude: Here it means a story that can't be told or doesn't fit overall with the narrative of a normal chapter, and must stand on its own to explain things clearly and without distractions. In this one we explore the whereabouts of a certain shadow man.

When Pitch found out the kid's tomb was open and inactive, his eyes widened in premature delight; the delight a predator feels when their prey is already upon their hands. But Pitch had yet to find the former slumbering hero, even if he could already savor the taste of his nightmares.

How delicious they must be! 

That kid was a walking buffet for his nightly creatures, knowing about the severe trauma he must be suffering from after the desolation the Calamity brought upon Hyrule a century ago makes Pitch smile. He has plenty of material at his disposal to keep the boy occupied and away from Lord Ganon's plans. It would be so easy~

Or well… it will be of course, once he finds the boy. 

That won't be hard either. He knew Link's priority lied with the sword and the Divine beasts. Knowing about the whereabouts of the sword gives Pitch pause and he thinks that there it is where the kid will most likely go to first, seeing how important of an asset that holy weapon represents for Ganon's destruction. 

Pitch can't get close to the sword per se. Not even remotely close to the village full of magic and ancient fairies, ancient as perhaps the world itself. But he can lurk nearby, his shadows ready to report if the kid somehow comes close to the forest, then Pitch can strike and infect his mind. 

But time goes by, and the hero is nowhere to be seen. 

Pitch grumbles low and deep in his throat and snaps his fingers, nightmares waiting for his beck and call reign their attention behind their master as he speaks to them without taking his gaze away from the horizon where Korok forest mocks him in his inactivity, with its fog that neglects him passage but for his shadows. He growls in response. 

"Go to every damn _divine_ _beast_ under Ganon's control. Be attentive of any sign of that kid and report to me whenever you see him. Now!!" 

He dispatches them at last with an exasperated cry, for he knows he can't let the boy go unchecked for long unless he wants his spirit to grow stronger and purer and harder for Pitch to subdue with his darkness. He grumbles out at night, looking at the corrupted moon that once was his worst enemy and he smirks, noticing how it changes from a righteous white-blue to the tainted blood red that signals Ganon's utter domination and control of Mim's former home. 

"Soon, my friend. Soon you'll all be reduced to nothing. Not even your memory will remain."

A promise he's made since before joining forces with Ganon, since before his defeat at the hands of the Guardians. 

He does not remember if his - _other half -_ felt the same. But Pitch knows that hate and revenge have always been in his veins and soul (if he still has one that is) and his existence can even be linked to Mim's careless treatment of his precious guardians. One in particular.

Seeing the arrogant little inhabitant of the moon weak and dying made Pitch smile. Serves him well. 

Though despite the satisfaction of seeing a former rival reduced to nothing gives him, his nightmares and dream pirates come empty-handed each night, much to his annoyance - daily reports being one of the many direct orders given by him to his sleek lackeys - and he can do naught but widen his eyes and stare in plain disbelief at the, honestly, disappointing news. 

How can the supposed hero be neglecting his duty so? 

If Pitch had been aware, however, he would have known that he was just unlucky. While he had focused his troops in keeping Korok forest in check, one of such nights, Link had already arrived at Zora's domain and exchanged words with a certain prince Sidon. Who asked the hero for his help to appease Divine beast Vah Ruta. 

Link agreed of course, and he got as news he needed to gather certain types of arrows for his troubles. He attempted such a task going against the local Lynel, but his tries rendered him empty handed and scared, making him seek aid for such a request elsewhere (namely one friendly merchant named Beedle, who recommended Lurelin Village). So, by the time Pitch sent his hordes of nightmares to the divine beasts, Link had already escaped his grasp, going under his radar. 

Pitch's frustration and worry increased each day. He could not fail Lord Ganon, not in his own field of expertise. So, despite his high confiance in the matter he could find the boy on his own, he had to resort to other measures. And rely on other people's dreams to do so.

Someone must have seen the hero by now, right? Talked to him and knew where he was headed or where he was currently hiding from Pitch's grasp. Seeking such answers from mere dreams was tricky, for the nightmare itself could make the sleeping person make up information in order to appease their frightened mind. But, no matter! He had a child to find. 

During the days Link remained lost inside Faron's jungles, days when he lamented his luck and cursed his poor planning skills under the unyielding rain and lighting. Pitch had already attacked, and his nightmares descended upon unsuspecting sleepers on the villages and cities, towns and domains surrounding the location of the divine beasts. No matter how small they were, Pitch did not leave a single stone unturned. 

And finally! He got the answers he had carved all along! The boy, the hero, the nuisance! Ganon's figurative thorn on the side! Was last seen at Zora's domain. 

The people's dreams were plagued by the hero in one way or another (Link certainly had to stand out for such a grand feat. He had to literally be the novelty of the moment for everyone to keep him on the forefront of their minds, some more than others).

And it was because of the dreams of a certain prince Sidon (who was quite popular among the female population, dare he say.) That Pitch got a huge help on his quest, and a new victim to torment. 

The young fish-man dreamt of his domain, of the Divine beast and the constant rain. (Like everyone else in this dull, helpless land.) And with just the right amount of Pitch's dark influence, with the creeping and nagging of his nightmares at night, Pitch saw him. 

_Finally!_

The dream changed - into a nightmare - and the Divine beast was about to go into a rampage and destroy the reservoir Sidon had always tried to protect. The rain was strong, So strong in fact, that despite Sidon's hulking size, he could not keep himself upright without slipping through the floor. 

His people run past him among cries of horror and fear. Their faces blurred and foggy, furtherly cementing the nature of this vision as a dream. But the dreamer (Sidon) was not aware, and he kept his gaze trained on Ruta while his people yelled and cried in the background because of the approaching beast, telling their prince to move and get to safety. 

That's when Pitch heard it. 

_"Link."_

There it is! 

_"Link where are you? Even if you come this late, perhaps we can still do something!"_ Pitch could hear Sidon's thoughts through the nightmare and he scoffed. Good hearted people and their positive outlooks on life sickened him. But he had to endure this young Zora's annoying words if he wanted to get to the bottom of this. 

_"Could the Lynel have killed him? No, no one found him near-by the beast when I sent for him. Maybe he's just preparing better? Yes! That's it, he's getting ready for a round two against that thing. Then he will come back with his shock arrows and…!_

That's enough. He now knew what the little hero was looking for. And just with that, half his work was done. 

Pitch's smirk grew. Pleased and placid like a cat who's got the mouse in his paws after such a struggle to capture him. Sidon had been really a great help. Why not give the male Zora a reward? 

Pitch's apparition sprung to existence inside Sidon' dream, regarding the ensuing chaos with boredom knowing that sadly none of this was real. He smirked with ill intent, his eyes trained on the back of his prey, then he approached his side and whispered with his teasing, playful voice of lies and malice the words that will surely crush this young man's - this boy's - fickle hopes.

"He abandoned you just as he abandoned your sister. He will not come back for you or your people. You're alone, Sidon. No one wants to help you anymore. You failed your duty, and your people resent your uselessness."

His lack of resolve, the break of his trust in the hero, the harsh words that spoke of the Zora champion's demise. It made the dream collapse and grow worse, the divine beast letting out an ear piercing cry and shining red where it before did so in blue; the sky shining red as well. And Ruta turned its attention towards Sidon. 

"He will come." Said the young man to the air with a broken voice, ignorant of Pitch's presence but not his voice, nor his overall influence over his dreams. 

Sidon's eyes go wide in terror, but not enough to make him leave. His rigid unresponsive body facing Vah Ruta's upcoming rage with a certain bravado Pitch could do nothing but classify as stupidity. 

_Pft, mortals were so predictable._

"No, Sidon. He won't come." 

Vah Ruta's laser points at the prince's chest at that moment, Sidon's breath hitches and his eyes go wider still, so big they would most likely pop out at any minute now. 

"You're alone… _Little guppy."_

"Mipha?!" Sidon cries when he hears his childhood nickname be said by his sister's voice. But he can't turn, can't think. Can't even shed an emotional tear by hearing her voice after so long when Ruta's laser shots with a mighty cry that engulfs Sidon whole.

The young Zora man wakes up startled, almost gulping down water from his own pool in his desperation. And he pants, erratically and maniacal. But he knows he's safe. It was just a nightmare. 

Just a nightmare, right? 

Somewhere around the domain. Pitch laughs to his heart's content in a dark symphony of delight, his hand coming up to pet the eager nightmare that nuzzles his palm seeking its master's recognition for a job well done. He now knows what Link is looking for, and knowing what the kid wants will take Pitch wherever it is people provide it. Thus finding the boy. 

Soon, soon! Pitch and his creatures will be feasting on the poor young hero's fears! 

But, just in case. He will leave a few of his agents around if the boy decides to surprise him once more with an unexpected move. At least now, Pitch will be better prepared. 

He decides to focus on keeping the beasts under surveillance. And have his fearlings, nightmares and shadows call for him whenever the hero passes by one. 

His voice is rigid, focused. And his hand stops its petting. 

"Tell the others to be attentive and find any settlements where they sell these Shock arrows."

The nightmare reigns and shakes its head in understanding, taking off into the night to pass the news to the rest of Pitch's army. 

He won't let this boy escape him once again.


	9. It's called a dreamcatcher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What?! Another chapter? So soon?  
> Yes. And I must confess this chaper in general was the most problemtic up to date, because from here onwards things will become more intense for Link and Tooth.  
> Also, Think of this and the previous chapter as a late christmas gift to those of you who gave and still give this story a chance. I do want to see this finished, and not updating for two months really ate at me. so, thanks for your patience.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Next day, Link woke up feeling slightly groggy and tired, probably because of all the walking he did around the jungle and inside Punjam Hy Loo the day before. He rubbed his sleep filled eyes and let out a yawn while he got to a sitting position on the ground. 

The fire he had lit last night had already been consumed through the night, the Sanctuary of teeth left entirely to the shadows' mercy. He shrouded at the thought, never one to be fond of darkness. Nor that he was afraid of it, just… He felt uncomfortable around it. 

At least out in the wild he had the light of the moon and stars, the torches around cities when he stayed in one. Even the shrines and caves he visited had some way for light to penetrate the darkness and let Link "see". But here, In Tooth's domain, light was scarce and some places lacked the means to illuminate her chambers. 

Tooth didn't look like someone who liked darkness herself, if the many torches ready to be lit at her hallways and the numerous luminous' stones mines laying around told him anything. So, why not have some means for sunlight or moonlight to come through the mountain walls?

That thought made him pause indeed. Why could Tooth possibly be hiding that was valuable enough to remain in a life of seclusion? The teeth were no more, that as much she had said. Was there something else she tried to protect aside the teeth? Or she hid this well to prevent other monsters from finding her abode? If so, who would be strong enough to make Toothiana remain isolated inside the dark mountain? Based on how well she fought against the monkey ambush, Link couldn't believe it was them she kept away from her home. So… who could it be, or what?

"Link!" Just as he pondered what other things Tooth could be hiding, Link snapped out of his thoughts by the curious tone of Toothiana's voice, she greeted him with a smile and asked if he had slept well. 

Despite his still tired limbs, Link nodded his head and got up from the floor at last. Tooth took the sheets and pillow from him and told him that today would be rainy (in Faron that meant the rain won't stop for days on end), looking at Link with apologetic eyes. 

He groaned and placed a palm square on the center of his face and dragged it slowly downwards. Just what he needed!

"I understand that you must continue your journey no matter the circumstances of the weather outside, but…" at this she shared an impish little smile with him. 

"You know… I  **have** a very well developed cave system here, maybe you can get wherever you need to go by following one of my tunnels?" 

Link's eyes widened in surprise and gratitude. Anything that took him away from Faron without having to deal with the rain was always welcome. 

She must have seen his expression of disbelief and awe because next thing he knows, she's laughing in good humor. 

"I see you like that idea! I mean, who wouldn't? For as much as I love the jungle, even I can grow tired of this much rain." to point this out, she let out an amused huff and waved one of her hands in the air, then behind the woman a group of her creatures appeared, all of them chirping and waving at Link in greeting. 

Unlike before with these little birds, Link now observed them with apprehension and uncertainty. It was way too weird thinking these joyful and boisterous little creature's were also Tooth, though he guesses that with a bit of practice he can come to accept such a thing. 

A  _ lot  _ of practice. 

The girls take Link's borrowed bedding from their master's hands and happily return them to where they belong deep inside the underground palace. No doubt Toothiana had called them just for this purpose, and this makes Link frown. Didn't she say summoning them makes her tired? 

Toothiana centers her whole attention on Link once more and reaches for his hand, then she gently asks him to follow her. He does as she requests, though his mind is full of questions he doesn't feel she will be inclined to answer. 

Tooth finally takes him to a new stone chamber illuminated by torches that come to life as soon as Tooth sets foot on the place. She guides his attention towards a dark hole on the wall, revealing a tunnel of some sort. This must be what she meant earlier. 

He must say the chamber where the tunnel is it's really big, both in height and width. He wonders why such an enormous place will be carved in stone just to house a tunnel?

Tooth sees his interest and smiles fondly. 

"This entire chamber is… Ah, used to be, one of the Sisters' main rendezvous points. They called it the hall of wonders." she relays and makes a grand gesture with her hand showcasing the grand stone chamber. 

"Here the sisters practiced their combat in jest, or informally. The mischievous ones would play games or tell stories, play music or simply rest." 

They called it the hall of wonders because you never knew what new thing you will find here, sometimes parties sprung to life without rhyme or reason, they simply happened. The sisters would play their instruments and laugh as they danced or clapped to the rhythm, others would bring fruits and food with them to share, and the rest would demand pyric stones (something like North's fireworks) to color the ceilings and light their nights of festivities. 

Now however, only dark smooth stone remained, and the mirth, dance and song that someday had enveloped this place was no more to be found and it only survived through Tooth's fickle memories. A great loss for the ages, indeed. 

"But enough of that." Toothiana looks down at Link and kneels to be level with his eyes, one hand over his shoulder. Her eyes are worried and urgent, Link knows that whatever she says right now, she means it by heart. 

"Link, I've already made it known how much I would like to help you, and I trust you understand by now why I cannot." 

Link knows, his face taking a sour note over her words, but if he thinks about it, if Tooth's powers are as fickle as she says, then she would represent more of a liability than help out in the field. 

Also, she seems reluctant to leave her palace to its own devices, clearly worried about its conservation; and considering that the spring is here, that the monkeys run amok out in the jungle, and how her halls are about to crumble without her constant maintenance, it's no doubt she has her own duties to tend to, even if she no longer collects teeth. 

Tooth can see it in his face (despite how annoyed he looks right now) that for better or worse he gets her meaning. She nods gravely and continues, her gaze never leaving his face; her eyes ever searching his own. 

"Then, please allow me to assist you in the only way I can right now." well, she means aside from the memories affair. 

Her free hand moves towards the sash she uses on her waist, grabbing at the item she had brought from her own quarters last night; the gift she had received long ago and now, despite her reluctance, she had to let go. 

Link follows the path of Tooth's hand, his eyes alert of any suspicious activity (a normal reaction for someone whose life is always in peril) and sees her bring out of it a dark circular frame of what seems to be wood. The design seems familiar to him somehow. Even though he's never seen another object quite like it in Hyrule. 

He squints his eyes and tilts his head slowly to one side, thinking hard. Where had he seen this item before?

Tooth presents the item fully to him now, a curious little thing, truth be told. Who would have known it would prove vital for Pitch's weakening those hundred years ago? 

She regains her full height, her hand abandoning Link's shoulder to, instead, give one last longing appraisal touch to the artistic and careful craftsmanship of this gift. She knows Link will come to understand what it is, he saw it just before after all. 

_ Though if he doesn't, then Tooth should really start worrying about his memory issues not only concerning his life one hundred years ago.  _

To her relief, Link's eyes widen in what she believes to be recognition, she lets a small smile play at her lips and nods her head in agreement, slowly waiting for Link to speak first. 

"That…" He points slowly to the object, then looks quizzically at Tooth "The rare symbol from the mural?" he gasps and Tooth nods some more. 

"Yes, Link" Is all she can say while staring at the frail looking, yet surprisingly sturdy wooden frame cuppen in her hands. She remembers the day when she got it, the same day she swore to keep it safe, to treasure it. 

But this is no time for second thoughts or cold feet, she had taken a decision, she had weighed the pros and cons, and Pitch's threat was pretty much all she needed to agree no cons will ever make her choose to keep this treasure for herself when someone else needed it more. 

Taking the cord she had attached to it last night, Tooth dangled the - now necklace - in front of Link. She hardened her gaze, her face taking a more serious expression as she relays her next words. 

"This little trinket you see here, is called a  _ dreamcatcher,  _ it allows its owner to repel negative energies and keeps you safe from their reach. And, as an added bonus I shall say, it keeps nightmares at bay."

_ She didn't want to say this  _ **_added bonus_ ** _ was the entire reason why she was giving him the dreamcatcher in the first place. After all, if Link asked questions regarding "why give me this for nightmares? What's wrong in having one from time to time?" and no, she can't have him asking things that will lead her to discuss Pitch. She must be careful and let that shadow remain in shadows; to remain forgotten, just a bad memory from the people of the past. _

Link's eyes open wide in amazement, how could something so small do such things? If it was true, then why didn't more people use them? Surely many citizens from the remaining villages would pay or give whatever they could to sleep better at night, to repel monsters and malice! Though he had to admit it looked rather weak. So, maybe it would turn out to be useless for Link aside from the nightmares' stuff, but for those others who unlike him didn't go out of their way to fight monsters all the time? This surely would be helpful! 

"Why me?" He asks instead, knowing how weak Tooth already is, wouldn't a protection charm like this be more helpful for her current situation? 

She softens her hardened features and shares a rueful smile with the young hero, her hands taking each side of the thread she holds and reaching slowly to place it around Link's neck. 

"Because you need all the help you can get out there, Link. There are evils lurking on the world outside my halls that will be waiting for you, trying to hunt you down at every corner; trying to kill you. And I only wish to know you are at least safe, even if the dreamcatcher only works its best at night."

She separates from him and sends him a long appraising look, she is glad her treasure can finally help someone else after so many years, though she can't say seeing it go away with Link doesn't stir a bitter emotion in her heart. 

_ No matter… I'm sure  _ **_he_ ** _ would have wanted this.  _

Her hand reaches out once more, her smile is soft and tender, quite like the ones Link has seen mothers bear when caring for their children on the towns' roads. Though those mothers' eyes were never as sad as Tooth's own. 

Her fingers stop by the feathers dangling from the dreamcatcher, long dark blue feathers that shine like polished metal with the light from the torches. He believes the charm was painted the same color as the feathers intentionally. 

"This was made by Revali years ago, Link. He even used his own feathers here." she says softly, pointing at the feathers one last time."

"With that said, I trust that you understand now how precious this is for me." And Tooth's voice may be light and low, but Link knows she must be feeling rather bad for how her eyes sparkle and her fingers keep tracing the feathers over and over, the look on her amethyst eyes lost and distant. 

He can't take this gift. Not if it means so much to her. 

She notices he tries to take the necklace off, but she stops him by repeatedly telling him to stop, he does; just shy away from getting the charm off over his head. 

"It's ok, Link. You need it more than I do anyway. Besides, I believe Revali would have wanted you to have it, if he knew the situation you're currently in."

He sends her a long unsure stare, and she knows he wants to reject her offered item, but it's the only way to keep him away and safe from Pitch, so Tooth won't take a no for an answer. 

"All I wanted to say is: I hope you take good care of it." 

Link looks up at the woman, who again sports a saddened smile his way, he knows she must lament losing something this important, seeing how many times she's shown she cared for this Revali Link can barely recall himself. 

But Tooth is his ally, and she's doing this for him. He must accept her gift, her offer of aid and continue with his journey. He somehow knows further arguing would be pointless. 

Toothiana nods when the hero places the necklace back in place, glad he's understood and that he will take the dreamcatcher with him without asking any further questions. Good, exactly what she's been hoping for. 

It's time to say goodbye, however. And Toothiana asks Link what his next destination is and his eyes flare up in worry and desperation, just as she had suspected last night. He's running short on time for whatever his mission demanded of him. Yes, that's why she's asking, so she knows best which path to take. 

Toothiana nods in understanding when Link bursts out the name of the village he hopes to reach first and foremost, Lurelin. A small village pretty far away from Tooth's abode but she sees no other complication despite the long boring trek he will have in store for the next couple of hours through her tunnels. Though he will need a guide wouldn't he? Letting him go on his own could have disastrous consequences, and she doesn't want to know Link ended up lost somewhere just because she was careless. 

As such, next she summons a good amount of her fairies with a wave of her hand. Link winces thinking how much power she can still spare to manifest this new group, but she doesn't look that affronted yet, so maybe it is more complex than what he thinks?

Well, as long as she doesn't hurt herself on his expense by summoning her girls, Link is alright with her doing so, though if he discovers otherwise, he will be the one not taking a no for an answer over this matter and tell her to take it easy.

"My girls know these caves as well as I do. They can take you out of here and the closest that my halls allow to that village in record time." She offers as a way of explanation as to why she summoned a group of her small girls, they wave and chirp at Link some more, a couple grabbing at his clothes and tugging at them to get a move on. 

He smiles despite himself, for these creatures truly were the heart and soul of this place, weren't they? With their laughs, their games and… 

Weren't they supposedly Toothiana? 

Toothiana always seemed sad and down the entire time he's been with her, like a ghost or some old people Link had met at some stables, those who wished to perish already because they did not want the calamity to claim their old bones. Not now that they could not stand a fight like last time it tried to destroy Hyrule. 

Did Tooth have the same kind of thoughts? Then why were her and her girls so different? 

Questions that maybe he will never get the answers for. 

Before departing with the flock of hyperactive girls, however. Link is stopped by Toothiana's hand over his shoulder, he turns around and faces her with a confused frown, did she forget something? She looks quite pale for sure. 

"Link" she starts "one last thing. Don't let anyone see your charm, please. Keep it hidden somewhere in your person unless someone sees it and discovers what it is!" 

Her words are rushed and desperate, as if a warning she should have given sooner but forgot completely about it, he understands the sentiment, he's learned half the people who speak to him forget to give him the full details over what he's supposed to do during his journey. Though this time, he feels it's different. He wonders why? 

"If someone knows you carry a dreamcatcher, they might know how to dispel its magic. Please, Link. Don't let anyone see you possess one!" 

An odd request, sure. But Link had received far rarer ones, and despite the mysticism behind her words, he agrees. Next thing he does, he takes the Dreamcatcher and places it under the fabric of his hood. Showing Toothiana how the item is, as she requested, hidden from plain sight. 

Tooth feels she can breathe better when Link hides the Dreamcatcher. So, she finally lets her girls resume their eager chirping and tugging, guiding Link along the way towards the tunnel and onwards Lurelin once again, happily ignoring the worried look Tooth sends their way. 

"Be careful, please. Link." 

*+*+*+*+*

Link really wished he could understand the little creatures that accompanied him during his journey in some way, because they really were taking their sweet time reaching their destination, and one can do so much when your only company are tiny birds chirping around you all the while, Link unable to add anything to their conversations or distract himself like normally would, by killing monsters and foraging for food. 

He knew the birdies had discussions of their own, though he remained ignorant of the subjects they talked about. The further they walked from the main chambers of the palace, the less light he noticed getting into the tunnels they walked through. However, his only aid for this situation was a kind of moss growing overhead the cave ceiling and around the walls and floor in uneven patches that shone a delicate blue and green light. He guessed by the looks of it, that in that case all of Toothiana’s tunnels outside the main chambers were in the same condition, for the rest of Tooth’s palace was clean of such growths.

Perhaps she didn’t care about maintaining them because they were just rock passageways, there were no murals or decorations or gold designs to preserve here. And he remembers Tooth saying she used her mini-selves to keep everything spotless, though summoning them tires her. He guesses this must mean she only puts top-priority to the rooms and caves that have the highest cultural value for her and her kind, thus allowing other places like this to rot and decay.

He dreads thinking such a once thriving and beautiful civilization (they must have been for how much he has already seen of their crafts) ended up forgotten and in the brink of losing even their material legacy and the only place which could scream out to the world they had once existed. 

He shudders to think the same could happen to a domain as rich and full of kind people as the Zora’s, why it was as (if not more) beautiful than Tooth’s own underground palace. Losing it certainly would be a tragedy, not only because of their breathtaking artistry, but for all those lives who would be cut short and the knowledge lost to the wind.

He hasn’t yet visited any of the other towns and villages housing the remaining divine beasts, but he already dreads thinking any of them ending the same as Punjam Hy Loo here did. As a ghost town with a single person doing their best for the memory of their people to not be lost to the ages and the collective minds of others. That is, of course, if anyone survived the destruction (that will surely ensue if Link fails) to care.

All of a sudden, the weight of the mission he had carried over his shoulders all this time multiplies ten-fold, or so he thinks it does. He had never thought the real scope of what  **would** inevitably happen if he failed Zelda and the people of Hyrule counting on him, what the future holds for them if Link somehow screws up.

What a nice way to start his day. Honestly. 

Tooth’s girls flew around him all the while he had these grim thoughts, grabbing chunks of moss with their tiny hands and playing with how it glowed, they sometimes stayed a bit behind because they were rubbing the moss on the clean parts of the walls, scribbling all over them and making what Link believed to be drawings. If he raised an eyebrow at them, they giggled (it sounded like one anyway) and flew off once again seeking more ways in which to cause mischief.

He could do nothing but smirk and shake his head. At least he had a way to distract himself from his depressive thoughts while trekking the tunnels with such company. Why, he even came to find one of the girls with her face all covered in glowing moss! She sheepishly shrugged at him, clearly amused by the result.

It really was hard to imagine these tiny things were, escentially; Tooth. And, honestly, Tooth was an entire case on her own indeed.

He had thought Impa and the Zora’s would be the oldest creatures he will ever come to meet… But it seems he was sorely mistaken. This lady seemed to beat them all fair and square. Maybe he didn’t know exactly by how much. But the way she spoke about things, as if she had already seen it all, gave him a pretty good headstart to guess she was a few centuries old at least. Was she perhaps a mystical being like the great Fairy outside of Kakariko? Her girls, now that he looks closely, resemble the tiny fairies he’s come to meet around Cotera’s fountain. 

Are they fairies?

Is Tooth some kind of great fairy?

No, no. She said there was an entire race of creatures like her, and Cotera certainly didn't look like Tooth. Besides, Toothiana said she worked for Hylia or… Farore? Anyway, The great fairy didn’t seem to particularly work for someone but herself and her own needs in exchange for rupees. Well, maybe only rupees is where Link could draw parallels for them both. 

And, while Cotera indeed said she had sisters, he doubted she meant the sisters of flight, for Tooth so far had not attempted to charge Link rupees for anything (unlike Cotera when he first met her). 

So, if not fairies. What were the sisters of flight?!

No matter how much he wants to understand this creature, Link found nothing more than questions and dead ends for his thoughts. Sure, his memory was not the best at the moment, but he doubted that even with a full functioning mind, he will have an upper hand in figuring Toothiana out.

What a puzzle!

After what happened to be ceaseless hours of walking, Link saw how Tooth’s fairies (yes, he will call them that from now on) placed their hands on the face of a rockwall before them, clearly a dead end for how there was nothing in front of them but for a giant boulder blocking their way. Great, just what he needed!

_ Had Tooth perhaps forgotten about this detail when she sent them on their way?  _

However, before his thoughts could turn even more desperate and fill Link with further frustration, he noticed the tiny birdie-creatures come forth and make a wide circle around the center of the rock giving Link a weird sense of Deja-vu. 

_ Strange… They did the same when they showed me the mural, didn’t they?  _

Though, back then, they didn’t perform any special trick aside using a piece of Luminous stone each to light the obscured wall, but now. Now Link was thoroughly impressed.

Their hands (tiny as they were) came forth and reached for the rock in front of them, from where they touched, slight tremors overtook the wall and, ever so slowly, the rock started moving on its own to the side as if it was nothing more than a sliding door (like the ones Link had seen at Kakariko). 

Link gaped at the scene before his eyes, never before imagining such tiny creatures could do a feat of this magnitude. Though, he remembered,Tooth had used that same trick before hadn’t she? It made sense that her fairies, being… well, her! could do the same things she could such as producing entrances and exits out of nowhere in these mountains at will.

Did she even have  **any** normal entrances to her palace? or did she just produce them as she needed them?

Wow! talking about isolating oneself.

He thanked the little ladies once the rock had moved all the way and they encouraged him to step outside towards the sunlight. Link would have never thought he would miss the sun quite so, but an entire day inside Tooth’s underground palace had him appreciate things he had thought for granted before. Namely sunlight, and the breeze upon his face.

Link stepped outside slowly, careful if perhaps there were any monsters nearby. He blinked in amusement when all that welcomed him was the humid and slightly salty air around him. A quality he had so far only encountered while at sea. So, they had really taken him as close as they could to the village, uh?

He turned around, smiled in gratitude and bowed to his entertaining guides. For he was sure that without their oddities, he would have had a boring journey.

Most of the girls squealed in delight and he thought he spied one fanning her face in… embarrassment, was it? And then, two more just chirping happily and waving their goodbyes at him. 

After his entire entourage finished saying their farewells, the fairies went back inside the mountain and just as they waved back at him, the rock slid back into place, as if nothing had ever perturbed that side of the rock wall.

Again, he blinked his amazement away. Convincing himself this would be far from the strangest things he will come to experience in Hyrule. (Why, the fairy fountain had been quite a scare back in the day). 

Link takes out his slate, gauging how far he is from the village. He sees Lurelin’s location plain as day on his slate. Behind him is a patch of jungle that the slate names as Ebara forest, and he can see a convenient path that takes travelers to and fro said forest all the way to Lurelin. He has most of this map portion in darkness because he had taken a different route to Lurelin last time. Now, however, if he gauges this path correctly, he will have a pleasant undisturbed walk all the way to the small fishing village. 

Not ideal for someone accustomed to action on the road, but his nightmarish time spent lost inside Faron makes him let out a sigh of relief and smile. He tucks the slate away and starts his journey, hoping to get to the village near lunch time. 

*+*+*+*+*

Tooth is informed by her girls that Link’s already abandoned the tunnels and continued with his journey towards Lurelin. She thanks her girls for their good job and calls them back to her, their bodies disappearing wherever they are to return to Tooth’s own.

Tooth knows they feel nothing when she orders them back to her, but still, she dislikes not being able to have them by her side all the time as she used to do a century ago. Yes, while it’s true the ruby box gave her that skill, she had used it so often now she could perform it and summon her girls with her own magic despite her present shortcomings.

Maybe if she hadn’t taken the ruby box’s powers over teeth for granted, she would have been able to do the same with memory awakening...

But alas, the past is in the past. And Tooth must stop berating herself for the things she didn’t do or missed on doing. Instead, she must think on how to fix what’s already on her hands. The topic of Link and the catalyst.

She sighs and looks up at the jeweled ceiling of her room, the place she decided to retire to earlier after Link left. She won’t lie to herself and say she’s fine to go out into the jungle once more and do her rounds, no. Tooth was honest with Link when she said she tires easily nowadays, and it will be a while before she can even go outside to continue prosecuting monkeys. 

She knows she shouldn’t feel ashamed by how low she’s fallen from the fierce figure she represented not too long ago, but she does. She has ever hated weakness and idleness, but alas, there’s not much she can do to improve her circumstances.

Tooth’s room is a grand alcove carved neatly at the highest wall of the mountain. That once upon a time, was her own mother’s room, the Queen’s quarters no less. How terribly sad such a title does not fit to describe this place anymore.

Save for the diamonds, sapphires and opals encrusted on the rock ceiling above her, the place is surprisingly bereft. Maybe a treasure chest here and there to keep her valuable possessions, And her swords certainly rest on the wall behind her bedding. Right above her head should she immediately need them. Aside from that, gone are the large thin white veils that should rest at either side of her nest or the soft decorative pillows that should make for her bed. She had replaced those long ago for far humbler ones of cotton and linen.

Her bedding is modest, despite the title she now carries as queen of the sisters of flight. She sees no point in keeping lavish furniture and trinkets when no one can see them, when they mean nothing if she has no one to display her image of power for. To look her very best for. No subjects, no one who relies on her as their leader, no visitors.

There are no golden decorations here, not even chandeliers or tall elegant candelabra resembling flowers like her mother once adored, no. In their steed, Tooth had encouraged (with a little help from Bunny) for Luminous’ stone veins to sprout in the edges where the floor meets the wall all around her room, giving a soft blue tint to the entire chamber. She refused to place torches here, their light too aggressive for her taste. She prefers the soothing properties of blue luminous stones’ light, even if dimmer than that of a torch. At least they eased her frantic thoughts and helped her sleep.

Despite how much she likes looking at the jewels up her ceiling, for they remind her of a starry sky any other clear night, she prefers to take her gaze away instead, not willing to let herself think of the night sky anymore. There was nothing good up there. Nothing worth of her attention. Just a liar and a prisoner.

She knew neither would come to her aid if needed. With Mim most likely out of commision and Sandy… well. Sandy travelled through the stars wherever he wanted now, didn’t he?, not even worrying to come and check up on Tooth and the others every once in a while. 

_ If only he had been more attentive to the children's plight and fears, if only Sandy truly cared! Maybe many a catastrophe could’ve been avoided. _

She must stop her racing mind though, there is no time to waste in harsh truths and past disappointments. She needs to be at her very best now more than ever because Link needs her; he needs her well rested and on the top of her game, with the most of her available strength with her if she is to help him recover his memories. 

Yes. Her reproaches for her once  _ true friends _ will have to wait; wait until she sees them all again, face to face one day. And show them all outright the many children they had let down and hurt because of their selfish desires, their inability to move on from their own pain, even if enduring it all would have ended up bringing the greater damn good! But no! 

**_They had to be selfish, hadn't they?!_ **

Ugh! 

Seems like tonight, sleep will be evading her like most other nights. Joy!

*+*+*+*+*+*

Link likes Lurelin, despite being small and rather uneventful (perhaps that’s why he likes it to begin with) but it’s full of good food, good people and overall great sights. 

He found out, much to his enjoyment, that he had indeed gotten right on time for lunch, and the people received him with open arms and a hearty invitation for a warm fish meal. How could he say no? 

Apparently though, the fishermen were having issues catching fish, they said the Lizalfos and octorocs that roamed the waters further away from the village scared the schools of fish away. And Link could not bear the defeated look of the people's faces. So, when he learned after his meal that the general store had run out of shock arrows (a rather discouraging and despairing matter for sure). He decided that he could perhaps make this travel worth it at least for someone, and take care of such bothersome monsters. Not only to pent up his frustrations with them, but to also help the struggling community. 

The rest of the afternoon saw Link in close combat against those pesky monsters, slashing at them and showering their bodies with arrows. He lost count of how many times they made him fall, how many times he had to take the fight towards the sea and fear he would drown. He sputtered water like a fountain as he struggled to get back to a high rock or the beach to recover while a Lizalfo tailed behind him. But he had to remind himself these people needed him, and that they couldn't do it without him. They weren't warriors, just fishermen. 

The deed was done however, he had killed mostly every monster there was, and those he couldn't, had run away in fear after seeing their fallen comrades. Link frowned at them and nodded harshly once they turned tail and escaped. A wise decision on their part. 

Of course his deed had not gone unnoticed, and the people cheered and thanked him many times for his efforts once he came back from his hunt. So much so, that they all insisted on helping Link obtain the shock arrows he needed by helping Mubs (the girl at the market) and her family make more for him so he could have them first thing in the morning. 

Gestures like this showed Link why saving Hyrule was worth all his troubles, his fears and his insecurities. Because if he could defeat Ganon at the end of the day, just being able to know he was responsible for keeping such kind people safe, meant everything to him. 

Lurelin is in the mood for a celebration, for the first time in days, the sky is clear, the beach free of danger, and the sea full of fish. Those who are not with Mubs family making the arrows are outside making an impromptu feast for the blonde Hylian. Link merely smiles shyly and rubs the back of his neck. It's late already, the evening sky starting to change its colors to that of nighttime and Link can do little else but watch mesmerized. 

He loves the sunsets by Lurelin the most, that's a given. And he looks in awe how the sky is painted in so many colors at once before the stars decide to come out. He wonders if Pikango could perhaps have that many colors available when he paints one of these sunsets. And Link considers deeply if at some point it would be wise to commission Pikango to paint a Lurelin sunset for him, when he (Link) has more rupees to his name, that is.

Besides the Hylian boy is a woman, a tall lady with red hair snickering at his perplexed face while regarding the horizon (Flavi is her name.) He is taken aback by her laughs and rubs the back of his neck in shame. She waves his attempts off.

“Oh, no need to feel bashful young voe. I recall being the same when I arrived here not so long ago. They are truly marvelous, aren’t they?”

He merely nods with a genuine happy smile on his face, his eyes never leaving the horizon.

Flavi had come earlier to this spot to congratulate his victory against the monsters and point out how impressive his deed and selfless actions had been. Link humored her by receiving her compliments, though he's not (never had been) comfortable about getting them. Silence fell between the two, but Flavi remained by his side contemplating the horizon as well as he did. Seems neither liked the ruckus and lively nature of the festivities taking place around them. 

“Though, I  _ hate _ rain.” And at this she makes a very ugly disgusted face. Link believes such gestures do not become someone as pretty as her.

“You could say that, coming all the way from Gerudo desert, I would find rain marvelous and love it. The truth is, I can’t stand it anymore. You can basically do nothing when it rains like this! Ugh! and the lighting!”

And Link is just there, eyes wide and mouth agape nodding along to the lady's words and just… Just agreeing to everything she says! Because it’s true, and it’s horrible! and finally! someone gets it!

“Well, luckily I’ll be moving on from here soon enough.” She ends with a sigh, content with the fact that, even if not bringing much to their “conversation” at least this Hylian understands what she means.

“I was wondering, though...” she says, and Link sees her staring intently at him. She reaches out her hand and grabs something by his chest, her eyes widen in amazement.

“Could you perhaps let me know where you found such a rare necklace? I’m sure that, while I look for a perfect spouse, I could perhaps try and learn how to make one of these? They will surely love such an eccentric accessory back home.”

Oh… Oh! That!

Link mentally curses when he notices (just  **now** he notices!) that the dreamcatcher is out of his hood and free for all to see. He panics and hurriedly takes it back from her grip, clutching at it tightly over his chest. He is ashamed for his rude action of course, but how else could he react when he had promised to not let it be seen? When Tooth had looked so serious (and worried) over the matter, just for him to forget about it completely?

And not only that! but he notices that the feathers, Revali’s feathers no less! Are all wet and disfigured.

Dear Goddess! had Link truly broken Tooth’s charm in less than a day! Oh dear Hylia he was in so much trouble!

He shakes his head and starts to move away, suddenly losing all interest in keeping watching the sky change colors. his companion asks him what’s wrong, but he just looks at her apologetically and shakes his head again before waving his goodbyes and running towards the inn at full speed.

The Gerudo woman stays right where he left her, her gaze following the odd Hylian voe disappearing into the festive little village.

“Pft. Voe!” she complains and rolls her eyes, her attention once more on the horizon.

Back at the inn, Chessica (the keeper) sees him come in a panic and asks what's eating at him? Why is he not enjoying himself out there? But Link shakes his head in a rush and rushes straight to his bed and sits down cradling the ruined necklace in his pale calloused hands. He frantically fusses over the ruined feathers resting against his fingers, his mind coming short with answers for the questions pulling up on top of each other. 

Will just letting them dry do the trick? Can he somehow pull a fried part of the frame back together? Some decorative beads are missing as well, he notices. Can he replace those with some other ones? Or are they special? 

Will he be able to repair this mistake he stupidly committed? 

Why did he think fighting those monsters head on was a good idea to begin with?! And on top of that why with his hood on?! He never went near water wearing it because it could become an inconvenience! And while yes, the sun had started burning at his face and he decided to just go along with it for the time being. If he had just taken it off before heading straight to battle, he could’ve seen the necklace resting beneath the hood and remember to place it inside his slate for safe keeping! 

Sadly, and despite looking for better solutions, nothing comes to his mind that could fix the present problem at hand, he wishes he could just turn back time and refuse getting into the sea for as long as he did. He remembers he promised Tooth he will keep the necklace with him at all times, but he never once thought that it was also possible for the dreamcatcher to break if he was not careful. 

He places the charm inside the slate and lets his face fall on his open hands afterwards, cursing his lack of attention; his biggest mistake up to date. How is he to replace such an invaluable gift if it turns out to be hopeless after all?! And poor Toothiana seemed so sad to let it go all the while she offered it up to him… he should have resisted a bit more and kept rejecting her offer. He had just ruined her precious gift from Revali! 

Well, there’s nothing more he can do at this point but pray to Hylia and hope someone out there in Hyrule knows how to fix this problem. And he must, for the first time and much to his disappointment, break his early promise to Tooth because he can’t risk using her dreamcatcher without fear of truly ruining it beyond a possible repair.

Next thing he will do is look around for someone who knows about such things, his mind provides him Impa would be a good place to start, but she’s all the way back to Kakariko and he needs to return to Zora’s domain as soon as possible… Maybe someone there, be it Sidon or the King himself. Maybe even someone from the city guard could perhaps know something or two about the dreamcatcher. Otherwise, he knows his best bet would be to plan a journey towards Rito village. He had to go there anyway, right? 

Yes, that’s the best he can hope for the future and pray for it to work and give him a solution. For now though, he sighs and prepares to go to sleep. Tomorrow, he will get the arrows he needs and finally get back to Sidon. Yes, the shrine at Zora's domain he  **had** actually activated. So his arrival wouldn't be further delayed by things like weather and pesky monsters. 

With at least that semi-working plan going around his head and a guilty conscience, Link is finally able to lay down and fall asleep. Around him though, the people of Lurelin celebrate and laugh, dance and sing for their freedom of monsters. At least for the time being. 

The inn is deserted save for the hero, the keeper deciding to leave her only sleeping guest alone in favor of joining the festivities, if only because she knows her only other client besides Link is Flavi, and she trusts the Gerudo alright to let her come and go as she pleases. 

How unfortunate, however. That no one noticed how the lights at the inn dimmed to the point it seemed there were none to begin with. Darkness creeping along the walls were the hero laid alone, sadly vulnerable to any and all menaces of the night.

“Well, well. Little hero, who knew you were hiding here all this time, hmmm?~” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, It's Link we are talking about. What did you expect?  
> Poor Tooth. Link better fix that charm before she knows what happened :p


	10. Interlude - Dark Whispers and the Long Lost Boy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nightmares can be quite frightening to some people, and quite useful for others.  
> It all depends on who you ask.

_"Link!"_ someone cries desperate. Their voice is choked and trembles, he hears them panting as explosions go around them and whoever is with him cries in horror whenever something blows up in the distance. They are afraid and crying, crying for him to wake up; crying for everything to stop. He can't see anything however. And despite being upright in an expanse void of darkness, he feels his body in a different position. As if he doesn't inhabit it. He feels someone holding him against their own body, must be however is calling out for him. 

Why can't he see?! 

_"Link, wake up please! Don't go, Link. Don't leave us!"_

The loudest explosion goes off nearby, and despite not knowing what happens (for all is dark around him) he hears whoever it is that was by his side cry out in agony and desperation just when the explosion takes place. And Link knows, with his heart heavy and knees trembling, that they were hit, and that they didn't survive. 

He panics and all he can do is stare, long and hard somewhere in this darkness that envelops him. 

_"No. No, please don't! I'm sorry!"_

Is he a ghost? Is he dead? 

He's pulled back from his anguish by a voice calling out:

_"Why?"_

Link gasps, looking behind him where this new voice came from. He recognizes it, it's the voice that was hit by the explosion. It belongs to the person who cried for him. 

_"Why did you leave us, Link? Why didn't you come for us?"_

There's no one he can see, though. And he turns his head this way and that looking for whoever is talking to him in pure raw desperation. 

_"I believed in you, Link. I always did…"_

The voice is brittle, it breaks with what he knows to be contained sobs. And he can do naught but widen his eyes and shake his head no. No he did not abandon anyone. He would **never** abandon anyone who needs him! 

_"Where were you, Link? Where did you go? Why didn't you come for me?"_

No… No, wait! He's here. He's right here and he can hear whoever it is that calls for him. He can help them if only he knew; if only he could see where he is! 

_"Too late."_ The voice continues in a defeated tone _"It's too late now, Link."_

Too late for what?! 

There's a blinding light, and he covers his eyes with his arm. Where had that come from? 

A screech sounds in the distance, and he sees Hyrule field on all its glory around him, though for once he's not happy about the sight that welcomes his eyes. 

Guardians, with spiderly legs and beeping eyes of bright white doom flash their lasers at anything that moves. They are so many, Link had never seen these numbers of guardians together in one place before. Not even here on Hyrule field where he knew they were plentiful. 

A cry of agony breaks his spell of disbelief and makes him turn to his right, where off in the distance, a mother and her children had been intercepted by one of those cursed machines. Link's eyes widen, he sees the red laser pointing at the head of the woman while she desperately cries waiting for her doom to befall her. The baby in her arms weeps at the top of its tiny lungs, the small boy clutching her other arm closes his eyes tightly and hides behind the woman's frame unable to witness their own demise. 

Link runs. 

He's too far away but he runs, he has to make it!

 _"No, stop!"_ thinks Link all the while he stretches his arm outwards, hoping to reach the woman while he's close enough and pull her to safety. He's still too far away, and despite how fast he runs he doesn't seem to get any closer to them. The laser on the Guardian's eye beeping increases and he knows what it means. 

_"No. No, please don't! Please don't do it!"_

With a final cry from the woman, the laser finally shots from the Guardian's head. Link stops dead on his tracks and watches in horror how the place where the family once stood now sports a scorching crater. Nothing remains to show that there once stood a woman and her children. Not even their remains. The Guardian gauges its work done and walks away, prosecuting another poor defenseless victim. 

_"Ah!!"_

_"Please, no!"_

_"Hylia, help us!"_

_"Someone please!! There are children here!!"_

_"Mom! Mom where are you?!"_

_"My wife?! Has anyone seen my wife?!"_

_"Please!! Please, don't shoot!!"_

His head spins from one cry of help to the next, and he sees all kinds of people shouting for their lives, pleading for mercy to these stone cold machines whose only intention is to kill. For some reason he can't move, he can't find his voice to warn the next poor soul that a Guardian has spotted them. He feels a telling weight upon his back and he tries so hard to reach it! He knows that it could help him if he had it! But no matter how he wills his arms to move and grab his sword, they don't follow. He feels as if a hand grabs his jaw and says. 

_"Look at what you've done, hero."_

His face is held in an iron grip by an invisible hand, his eyes forced to witness the nightmarish scenario playing before them. The sky is red, just as the ground level is with the flames and blood staining the grass and consuming the few trees that stood tall and proud once in Hyrule field. Link feels his eyes well with tears, his heart heavy with despair knowing all of this could have been prevented. 

The castle out in the distance looms as a sign of defeat, as an enemy rather than the figure of hope and safety it should have been for these poor people. He sees a serpentine shape of black and red smoke swirl around the castle, claiming it as its trophy and base of operations. Link shakes his head no. This is surely **not** how it ends!

 _"Oh~ my poor boy,_ **_this_ ** _is just the beginning!"_

The scene shifts slightly (like a short jump in time) and Link sees monsters charging through Hyrule field now as well, decimating any rebel forces and killing anyone who could have escaped the Guardians' assault and setting villages (and even people) aflame. 

The sight shifts once more before he can even do so much as yell in frustration for the witnessed acts of bloodshed. Now, however. He sees what he recognizes as Zora's domain and his heart skips a beat, already knowing what it means. 

_No!_

The great bridges and arches, the columns of pure luminous stone. All of it demolished and resting below the waters beneath the domain. He can hear people yelling as he did in Hyrule field. But he can't see them for how far away he is. A mighty roar freezes him on his train of thought, and he pales when realization strikes him. That is the roar of a Lynel. Forever engraved in Link's mind from his one and only disastrous encounter. 

One and then another roar follows the first, and he loses count after ten or so. All of them coming from within the Domain. The pathways of blue and shiny stone are now rivers just like the ones that surround the domain's halls, just that unlike those, these are made of blood. The blood from all the Zora who once called this place home. 

Link draws breath after breath in a panic. Though he can't feel any air fill his lungs.

" _Link"_ He hears two voices call as one. One is soft, gentle and harmonious. Quite like a harp, the other is a bit deeper, yet still sounds kind. He recognizes one of these voices as Sidon's and the other as Mipha's. 

_"Link why? Weren't us worthy of saving?"_

He feels a knot building up on his throat.

_"Weren't our lives worth your time?"_

No! No, they were. All lives matter to Link! Moreso those of his friends like Sidon, he would never ever abandon the Zora prince he…!

But his thoughts are interrupted by Sidon's sole and grave voice. It's full of something Link could have never in his life have associated with the kind and optimistic prince. It's full of distaste, of resentment. And cold like the rain which assaults his domain. 

_"Then why did you run away?"_

Link has no time to respond, however, because the scene changes, and he's no longer on Zora's domain. 

He sees someplace he's sure he's never been to before. A desert. Fierce sand carried by the wind and lighting shine and roar over the desert as a faraway settlement is decimated by these elements. He knows he's floating above the high expanse of sand, a perfect vantage point to see the destruction first hand. The thundering steps of something big (a giant) behind him tells him lighting is the least of these people's problems at hand. He can't see anyone from so high above the ground, nor what causes such a ruckus behind him. But somehow, the cries of the people reach his ears. 

Desperate, in pain, and in horror. 

He wants to see no more. No more of this massacre! 

The landscape is once again different, Link sees a towering mountain spitting fire and rocks and smoke towards the skies. Rivers of scalding lava run downwards as fast as the waters from a waterfall. _Death Mountain_ his mind supplies. And of course no sign of life is to be seen below the fiery volcano. He knows some tribe lives here, a race who can withstand the heat and dangers of the volcano. But he sees no one, the lava has consumed it all, and the sight of flying guardians around the mountain tells Link that whoever is capable of escaping the inferno will be struck down by these Guardians' lasers. 

He feels like throwing up, but he can't even heave, can't even blink or close his eyes at all. He feels tears at the edges of his eyes but they don't fall. It's as if he's been rendered unable to mourn so many tragic losses and events. As if whatever is taking him through such cruel sights doesn't want anything to impede his eyes from witnessing the events unfolding. 

In a blinding flash he's far away again. The shrill cry of something overhead chills his very soul with an uneasy feeling. He can't look up however, his head stuck facing forward where some wood construction (or constructions he's not sure) around a giant rock formation, burn to the depths of a giant chasm below them. He sees figures taking flight from somewhere inside the inferno, and from the skies above where Link heard that cold artificial cry, a laser beam quite like the one shot by guardians strikes the fleeing figures to the ground in a heap of smoke and fire. 

He can't breath, he can't take his eyes away. Can't chase such a nightmarish image from his mind! 

_"Are you up to the challenge, hero?"_

He doesn't know that voice. But he listens without questioning its words a single time, he can't make a single rational thought outside the despair he feels on his very soul. 

_"You already failed them once. And you were at full power back then. And you also had allies to help you, didn't you?"_ He hears the voice point out in dark amusement. Somehow he knows whoever is speaking finds his own words shocking. How could someone who had everything on their favor _still_ lose? 

_"What makes you think_ **_now_ ** _will be any different? Accept it, little hero. What started one hundred years ago will conclude at last. No matter if you are once again awake and walking among your people. Hyrule's fate was decided the moment you were shot down."_

_"Ah!!"_

He hears his own voice cry. It's pure and raw agony and he feels the phantom pain of the injuries that, pilled up with that last grace shot, nearly kills him. 

Zelda was there too. She held him in her lap, shed tears for him, called out to him in pure raw desperation and stayed by him even if the Guardians' crawling around fort Hateno could kill her. Even if she could lose her own life by trying to save Link's worthless one. 

_"Link!"_ He hears Zelda cry before a massively loud explosion sets off nearby and silences her voice, drowns out her presence. And he remembers the start of this horrible experience and the voice that called for him from the darkness. 

It had been her, it had been Zelda!

And she had been shot down by a Guardian. Killed because of him. 

Gone because of him. 

_"Yes, Link. The princess is gone. As are your other friends. All because of your failure."_

Yes. Zelda is dead. How could he have forgotten? The champions also died. All of them did. What it's there for Link to fight for? Is it even possible to win when he's as outnumbered as he's? 

Even if he doesn't know where the ominous dark voice comes from, he somehow knows and feels the other rejoices from his pain and despair, he can even tell whatever is causing this, it's most likely smiling seeing Link defeated. 

Though before he can feel himself hit a deeper level of sorrow, of guilt. He feels a warm sensation come from his chest. It's perhaps weak and small, but it's at least something else to focus his attention rather than this hellish reality he's living right now. He doesn't know when he crawled into a ball or when he pressed his hands against the sides of his head, nor when he closed his eyes. But when the feeling of warmth grows and he can not only sense it but see it in the shape of a golden transparent light that envelops him from the chest outwards, he fully opens his eyes in astonishment. Somewhere, he _knows_ whatever it is that attacked his mind it's as perplexed as he is. 

_"Don’t worry, Link."_

His eyes widened. He knows that voice, knows those words. 

_"... Please allow me to assist you in the only way I can right now."_ A pair of slender and delicate hands grab his shoulders. Somehow that's enough to snap him out of whatever hell he's been suffering from all this while. He looks up at the newcomer's face, and he sees a smile that (despite the lingering hints of sadness in her eyes) he finds soothing and gentle for his afflicted heart. 

He's greeted by Toothiana's soft motherly face and encouraging grin. One of her hands comes to cradle his face and he finds out that at some point a tear must have escaped from one of his eyes, for Tooth is cleaning it away with her thumb. She catches Link's gaze with her own and says. 

_"... Lies, Link."_

What?! He saw her move her lips but he's having trouble hearing her. Please Tooth, please! What is it?! 

_"Don't believe these lies, Link."_

He stares hard for a moment. Yes, yes. Zelda is still alive somehow, isn't she? Inside Hyrule castle keeping Ganon at bay. 

She's still alive and awaiting her rescue by his hands, right? How could he have forgotten?

With the truth once more on the forefront of his mind, when the image of Zelda dead and angry at him dissolves to nothing. Only then does the fear go away from his mind. Link notices his surroundings have changed a final time, an expanse of white; just plain blank white, envelopes him. There's no more cries, or fire, or blood. No Zelda to tell him he's failed and no mysterious voice to point out his mistakes. 

All he sees before closing his eyes, and allowing this peaceful white canvas to take him away from the darkness, it's Toothiana's sad smile just before a rage filled voice cries out. 

**_"NO!!"_ **

And her image is torn away like a piece of parchment filled with disgusting words that the reader just _had_ to take apart. Link is sad that Toothiana's visage had to suffer for his sake. But her sacrifice meant he was taken to his own light filled heaven. There's no evil presence here, nor hurtful jabs at his past mistakes. No. 

Here he is warm all over, here it feels like he's surrounded by soft clouds. His body is adrift and safe and he's at peace. And, somehow, he knows he has to thank Toothiana when he sees her in person for everything she's done for him so far. 

+*+*+*+

**"NO!!"**

Pitch is angry. Beyond that. He's enraged, furious, filled with _hate._

He had him, he had had that kid right in the zone where he needed him! A few more words, a few more poking at his traumas and all would be done and well. He would have been broken to a fault, easier for Pitch's nightmares to claim and corrupt from then onwards. But of course… That pesky guardian had to come and **ruin** his plans! It's all she knew how to do right, didn't she? That little birdbrain, good for nothing of Toothiana! 

But wait! Wait just one minute...

How did Link know about Toothiana? Why did the guardian of memories appear on Pitch's nightmare? Only Link's memories were supposed to take part of the dreamscape he created, and as far as Pitch knows, Link never met her in his life. In fact, for what he knows, none of the champions had seen that annoying woman but for that pesky Rito she had befriended. So, how come the little hero knows her? Moreover. Why would he seek her as his comfort image from a night terror, and not one of his closer champion friends? 

Curious, curious indeed.

But before Pitch could try to recover control of Link's subconscious, he cursed lowly when taking notice that dawn will be breaking any minute now. He sends the sleeping kid one last derisive glare and retreats his shadows from around his room. He may have won this round against Pitch, but now the king of nightmares knows more about this little _hero's_ defenses. Next time, there will be no _pretty little fairies_ to coddle him back to a dreaming sanctuary. He'll make sure of that. 

"What are you up to, I wonder. _Little hero_?" 

With those last words, Pitch's blanket of darkness recedes from Link's surroundings, and now the place the boy occupies inside the inn is consumed by the natural darkness of dawn and not the shadows from an evil ally of Ganon. Link's frown eases and he's able to breath steadily and slowly once more. Nor him, not the village, ever the wiser that the previous night, they were visited by a terrible and dangerous monster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I should change the rating to M.  
> What do you think?


	11. And it better stays that way.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of a horrible night leaves Link drearing his mission in Zora's domain. Meanwhile, Toothiana must deal with an old foe who represents a latent danger for both her and Link.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back again and ready for a new chapter. How about you?  
> Since I don't have a beta or the like, I want to give a shout-out to the hemingwayapp.com which has helped me with punctuation and sentences' correction for this chapter. Blessed be!  
> I'm planning on using this tool in future chapters and perhaps to correct old ones as well.  
> We'll see, we'll see.  
> Meanwhile I hope this chapter is easier to read than the rest.  
> Thank you so much for your support guys, it inspires me to keep things going as fast as I can!

Link wakes up feeling still tired and somehow even worse than when he went to sleep last night. He sits up on the bed, noticing by the light coming through the window it must be quite early in the morning. He sighs and pulls the thin sheets the inn provides its patrons with over his legs. Discovering that last night, they fell on his dreamy fit. 

Now, Link does not move that much when he sleeps. Even on bad nights. Sleeping outside had taught him such habits were dangerous. Because then, monsters could spot you while you slept and could (and would) attack you. So, he thinks that if the sheets fell down completely. Then last night had truly been atrocious. 

One of his hands comes up and trails a path all the way to the back of his head through his blond locks of hair. Sure it was a dream, but last night's happenings stuck to him even now that he's fully awake and aware that it was only just a nightmare. 

Though it had felt so real. So unlike any of the other bad dreams he had had before (compared to this, he can no longer classify them as nightmares. Nothing he had dreamt before will come close to what last night's had been.) As if those images came straight from his memories rather than just a fantasy concocted by his fears and insecurities. As if he had somehow lived through the things he saw. 

But that's impossible, isn't it? The destruction he saw clearly didn't happen. Sure he felt otherwise concerning Hyrule field. But he had been at Zora's domain recently, and it was still standing tall, proud, beautiful and strong. He didn't know about the rest of the places he saw, but he's sure the volcano has not exploded as it did in his nightmare. 

So, had any of that been real, then? The voice said it was. But yet again none of it had come to happen. Was it an omen? A warning of what could happen if he failed?

His head hurts. 

"Ah! Our young hero is finally awake." Claims a cheery voice before him. Link looks up to find innkeeper Chessica with both hands upon her hips and a lopsided smirk on her lips. 

"Come on, boy. Come on! The town has your gift ready and wrapped up for you along something else before you have to leave us. You don't want to have the village waiting for you, believe me!" 

And with that last comment followed by a hearty laugh, Chessica leaves towards the front desk. Link would have smiled back and nodded his head had he been in a better mood. Though all he can think about is of his dreaded return to Zora's domain, and his following mission to appease Vah Ruta later today. 

_"You already failed them once. And you were at full power back then."_

His body instinctively flinches by the dark memory of that voice from his dreams, and he recoils from the harsh truth that it carries with his words. 

How can he win this time that he's lost everything? Even his memories? 

He was once a warrior. Right now, he's not even sure what he is supposed to be. 

But Chessica **is** right. He needs to get up and receive the shock arrows from the people of Lurelin, and thank them an uptenth time for their hospitality. If he had any saying in the matter, however, he would like to stay here and become one more fisherman. Or perhaps the monster hunter these people will need every blood moon or so. But he knows it’s futile. He has a mission and a destiny to fulfill. No matter if he likes it or not. 

  
  


*+*+*+*+*

A sad chirp makes Toothiana look up from her task at hand. She sees one of her girls telling her something in a low and unusual sorrowful squeak.

She's asking her _'Why?'_

Tooth frowns feeling a tad bit guilty. Her face contorted in pain and her gaze fell to the floor beneath her and to the side. She's even ashamed to admit what she's doing to her girls. 

"No one must see these. Not even Link." she reasons in a flat defeated voice. She takes her cloth once more, submerges it in water, and scrubs at the wall before her with renewed vigor and an unsure frown on her face. 

She feels the force behind her scrubs doing the same damage she's doing to these drawings done to her own heart. She needs to be strong, however, and swallow her pain through the process. 

_'But it was an important battle. And you were with your friends.'_ Chirps her girl sadly, and Toothiana winces as if she’s been slapped. But she ignores the comment all the same, and continues scrubbing.

 _"The birth of Pitch Black"_ Supplies her mind. A Mural where Pitch stands at the center with arms out spread and fearlings coming out to attack the approaching group of guardians. Tooth and her friends are surrounding Pitch's image in a circle, their weapons at the ready. 

She made it so she didn't forget that this shadow is no more the man that she once knew. No more one of her own. 

She couldn't (can't) have mercy or feel pity for the monster he's become. 

The tiny girl chirps again, trying to make Tooth understand and stop. The same pain the woman feels, she feels as well.

"This only reminds anyone who sees it that Pitch exists! That must **not** happen, we have to erase any evidence of his existence."

Even if it meant erasing all the murals where she stands side by side with the Guardians, ready to take upon the black evil shadow that is their worst enemy. Even if it means erasing parts of the murals where she's with Revali. 

_'But you loved these murals. You made them with love and care in your heart.'_

Toothiana face twists into something ugly, a grimace that tells plain as day just how much this process hurts her. She's the guardian of memories, her murals were her own way of showing that to the world. She made each one to preserve the importance of her job alongside that of the Guardians' to the next generations. But who will ever step into her halls and see them at all? No one, that's who. She should have never made them in the first place, knowing how troublesome they will become given time. 

"The past to the past!" She practically snaps, scrubbing faster and with more force beneath each passing. Her shoulders ache, her fingers protest her harsh movements. But she only redoubles her efforts. 

"Now what matters most is to keep the world safe from Pitch. And keep Link unaware of his existence."

She's sure of her words, despite the conflicting thoughts going between her mind and her heart. One cries at her to stop and the other merely shrugs it off and says that perhaps forgetting such long gone times is for the better. She'll take that as the best encouragement she'll get from herself, really. 

"A bit late for that, I'm afraid. Dear Toothiana."

The feathers at the base of her neck stand on end when she hears that voice. That telling, smooth, dark voice she wishes she didn't know so well. She lets out a loud gasp and her cloth falls to the ground with a wet plop noise. Above her head, she hears her tiny self squeak in terror and fly away in an attempt to escape this unwanted monster. Tooth's face twists in barely contained anger, and she turns sharply to meet her uninvited guest head on. 

"Pitch." She all but spits his name like a curse, and perhaps it is indeed. The shadow man stands concealed in the darkness of the hall where he's found her at work. The only revealing feature she can see, are his silvery eyes. Shining through the blanket of blackness where he's hiding. 

"You know what? Despite the simple childish nature of your silly drawings. I always admired how well they depicted our encounters. Such a shame you wish to get rid of them now. But why would that be? I wonder."

His voice comes from everywhere at the same time, though she knows he's standing right there in front of her. She grits her teeth when he asks his question. 

Of course she knows he _**knows**_ the answer to that. Cocky bastard that he is.

"Is it because you finally realized how pathetic it is that you keep clinging to the memory of your foolish group of friends?"

He lets out an arrogant and pleased little laugh as he disappears from the spot and reappears besides her. His front is to the wall where the mural stands. One of his hands comes up to caress the black tint that makes for his own visage upon the rock. 

"I remember this battle well." He points out in an airy whisper. And she knows that means he's recalling the memory right at that moment. Pitch takes his hand back after a while, as if a curse was finally lifted. He inspects the black dust that remains from his prodding with a disgusted scowl and rubs his thumb and forefinger together. Playing with the paint that stains both of them now, Pitch lets out a quiet huff of a laugh when he notices how the paint looks so much like his own black sand. Amused with the irony of it all. 

"Well Tooth, if I'm to be honest…" The tired smile that adorns his face is as fake as Toothiana's joy for having Pitch as a guest. She knows this damn shadow so well to understand a grin like that foretells an ugly outcome. So, she's more than ready to jump into action should he become aggressive any minute now. 

"... I remember them **all!** " His tone has gone dark and low. A growl Tooth can easily associate with the monster that is Pitch.

His eyes are cold and sharp and look down at her with barely contained anger.

"If not for that Man in the Moon! For that meddlesome Hylia! I bet none of you would have come out of that battle. No, pardon me. Of **any** battle with your lives intact!" 

He's practically yelling in her face now. Tooth welcomes his hatred and venom with her head held high and her eyes in an icy cold and defiant glare of her own. She knows how unstable Pitch is when talking about the things he hates the most. Hylia and Mim are the top of those things, right before the Guardians. 

"Still nursing your wounds, I see." she hisses back at him, and it's cold like a tomb. Like this, she hopes it serves to show him that his acts of intimidation no longer work on her, and will never do so again. 

Despite what she initially thinks, Pitch smirks at her, amused by her reaction. It's a cruel and cold grin. The calm that precedes the storm. 

"We already forgot our place, didn't we?" 

She's too slow to react to the hand that comes up and strikes her right across her face. The impact sends her back a few paces from Pitch, and she can taste blood in her mouth. Her indignation and disbelief must be painted clearly on her face for his stupid smirk to have grown so large. 

"Pitch, you little repugnant leech…!"

She doesn't know what she's thinking. All she feels is her body ready to pounce him to the ground. Ready to hit that horrible face of his over and over again until there's nothing recognizable left! 

She's stopped however, when upon being almost on top of him, a blade meets her throat and her eyes bulge in surprise. He's got his scythe out and ready to decapitate her if need be. He looks at her long and at the ready of any funny movement from her part. All remnants of emotion gone from his face. 

He's not playing around. 

"Done with your rebel streak, Toothiana?" His voice is low but firm. Like a strict parent with a rather misbehaving child. Somehow, thinking about that comparison makes Toothiana's heart ache. But not for Pitch in particular. 

Her glare challenges that of his own. And both enemies refuse to yield in their staring contest until one of them surrenders first. After a while, however, Tooth reluctantly relaxes her tense posture, and this tells Pitch he's won. That she won't be a problem anymore. 

He takes his blade away just a tad. Enough to show her he means his intentions to kill her if she attempts something like this again. But not so much as to harm her if she takes the hint and gets away from him.

Toothiana obeys, much to her own disgust. And takes stance in front of Pitch with her hands clenched into fists so tight it hurts. 

"That's better." He continues. Pleased that the handful of a Guardian is now back into her place of submission upon the obvious best of the two. Good, because he won't extend his mercy a second time if she pushes him into a serious fight. 

"I won't beat around the bush anymore. I see you have become more brutish as the years went by. What a shame for once a graceful warrior." 

He looks at her from above in full disdain. His shining silvery eyes judging and condemning her in one swift swoop. She looks up to him with trembling hands and desires to erase that stupid expression from his face. Insulting her pride as a warrior is a big offense, and Pitch knows it. He's looking for an excuse; for an opening to hurt her and blame her for it! That's the kind of manipulative beast that he is. 

"Say your piece or _leave._ " She hisses low and venomously at him

He stops in his obvious upcoming monologue so he can assess her impertinence with widened displeased eyes. He can't believe that after threatening her life like he's doing. She still has the gall to stand up to him and be a general pain; a thorn that refuses to be pulled from his side! 

"Careful, _dear_. Don't think that because you were precious for **_him_ **I will let you get away with anything you want."

Her eyes sting with tears that she refuses to let Pitch see. She's furious and boiling with contained rage already. She wants him gone and dead if possible! He has no right to talk about him at all. Not now or ever! 

"Shut up!" she yells back "don't you dare bring him into this, Pitch! He's gone and dead. As you must be!"

Despite everything, he smirks knowing he still can affect her with an old known topic. It pleases him greatly. 

"Oh, can't I? Well Tooth. I think I have the entire right to speak about him, hmmm? **_We_ ** are one and the same after all, aren't **_we_**?"

She cries out to him and is high pitched, raw, painful and animalistic in nature. But such is the result from suffering coming straight from the heart. She's upon Pitch once more. Her hands try to reach for his neck but she's too slow, too weak to properly fight his struggles for power. He easily manhandles her into submission. One of his long disgusting hands pressing her throat against the nearest wall in a painful grip, while the other holds her wrist ready to crush it if she gives him one more reason to think that's a good idea. 

It certainly appeals to him now. But he would rather see her suffer the pain of his grip. 

She chokes for air and kicks uselessly for him to let go. Pitch smirk grows and his face comes closer to Toothiana once more. Appraising her good looks in silence, deep in his mind. For an annoying bird woman, Pitch can reluctantly admit Toothiana is indeed attractive. Such a shame that's the only pleasant thing she offers to his tastes. 

"Hit a sore topic there, didn't I?" His laugh is soft and dark, pouring out of his lips as thick molasses. Yet, despite his tranquil demeanor, his grip is iron tight around her neck. 

"Well, my dear. All I want you to do is answer a small question for me and then I'll let you go back to lick at your old wounds. What do you think?" 

She knows he's getting back at her for earlier, and relishes in the fact he's managed to twist things in his favor. Tooth won't lie and say she's surprised things had come to be this way. She knew that a confrontation with Pitch would surely see her defeated once more. But it's so easy to pretend it won't be that way. To pretend she can still see him hurt and defeated like years past when the Guardians were still around. 

In her desperation for things other than air, Tooth resumes her kicking with renewed strength. And at least feels a bit of pride when she notices one of them connects and forces him to wince and recoil from pain. Good, if only she could do the same to his face. 

Pitch glares at her and presses her body even more against the wall. His snarl is dangerously close to her face and his eyes read _'keep at it, and this will be your end_.' Tooth knows that is no lie.

"Tell me, what is your business with the little hero of Hylia?" His tone is severe and loud, demanding and fierce. Had Tooth still been as ignorant and carefree as she was in her younger years, she's sure Pitch's demand would have shattered her. Made her tremble and comply with his demands in the fear he expects to instill in her even now. Too bad for him that version of Tooth and everything she once represented is now dead. 

"I-I h-have no i-idea..." She tries to say but he interrupts her by letting her throat and wrist go to grab her by the shoulders instead. Tooth is confused, why did he relinquish his advantageous grip? But then, she feels him pull her away from the wall only to push her straight to it with a powerful shove that leaves Tooth seeing stars. 

The brute!

"Wrong answer! And we both know it, Toothiana. I know you met him at some point. Are you two working together? For what purpose?" 

She wants to shove in his face the fact he said only one question. But her head hurts and spins so badly she shrugs the idea away as quickly as it came. It's not in her best interests to die today, after all.

"What makes you think we are working together?" she pants her response with difficulty. His grip is like iron and his digits dig painfully though her skin. She contemplates pulling up more of a fight, headbutt him now that he's so close. But the idea loses its appeal when the sharp pain from the back of her head intensifies the more she thinks. Even moving her eyes hurt.

That's not the answer he's looking for, though Pitch is not deterred nor confronted about her way of deflecting a straight answer. He smirks with dark joy, and comes closer to the side of her face. His lips are mere inches away from her fine emerald plumage when he whispers in her ear. 

"Because I saw you in his dreams, sweet Toothiana."

All color leaves the sister of flight's face. Her eyes wide and mouth parted in silent protest, the only thing she can think to ask herself is:

_“How?”_

*+*+*+*+*

Link feels void when he receives the arrows from the village's hands. They smile at him and wish him farewell now that he's revealed he must leave again. 

The few children he sometimes plays with during his days of staying here, beam and wave enthusiastically at him. Wishing Link safe travels and asking for him to come back again soon. Because they want to hear more stories about the world outside of Lurelin. 

If only they knew how things were out there. They would never want to leave the safety (relative for now) of their quiet little village. 

Perhaps enough time has come to pass for Link to forget about last night's nightmare. But he would be lying if he said it didn't leave its mark on him. He's endlessly nervous to return to Zora's domain, only to discover there's nothing he can do to appease the divine beast. Sidon had his hopes entirely placed on their shock arrows' plan. He trusts wholeheartedly on the idea of Link aiming and hitting the spots on Ruta that would deactivate the beast's constant pouring of rain. 

But, what if Link fails? If he loses all his arrows and barely any of them hit? Or worse, if hitting Ruta made no difference and the reservoir overflows all the same? 

What if he fails Sidon as he had failed the champions and Zelda? 

He stops in his tracks, contemplating this new train of thoughts he seems to be having ever since he woke up. When he agreed to the mission before, none of these doubts had ever crossed his mind, not even once. Sure he had his queries, but these had more to do with the process in question rather than his own skills. Now he didn't feel so sure of himself. 

Perhaps he should train a bit more with his bow and arrows before going back to the domain. Improve his skills enough to assert his confidence that he will indeed hit all his marks. 

But does the domain really have that much time? 

No, probably not. 

There's no more time to lose, sadly. And Link is standing once more on the shrine he refused to activate the first time. He will do it now in case that he ever needs more shock arrows in the future. (Which he throws a guess he will).

When that is done, Link overlooks Lurelin one last time. Basking in the serene atmosphere of the coastal village and the breeze playing with his hair. He lets out a sigh, knowing such peace won't last for long if he doesn't hurry on his fate appointed mission. Link takes out the slate, and points his next destination as Zora's domain. 

He feels his heart drop in anticipation and _fear._

*+*+*+*+*

"What?" she gasps with the strength she barely retains from her injuries. Pitch doesn't release his hold on her, but he does bring his face away from her ear (small mercies. Though now she has to look at his horrible face once again.) He's still smirking and she knows the elation she sees in his eyes doesn't foretell anything good. 

"Why so surprised, _dear_? Ashamed I discovered the good old guardian of memories has been _playing around?"_

She's sure that if she had more wits to herself right now, she would be blushing by what he's implying. Though she doubts she has enough blood left on her face to do as much. All of it is gone to the soles of her feet. 

_‘In his dreams? B-but… But that would mean he was able to infect Link's mind?!’_

And Tooth is right to panic. Link has a dreamcatcher in his possession! That alone should be more than enough to keep this monster at bay. Had the power of the artifact waned over the years? Had Pitch's own grown so strong that not even such relics could affect him? 

What chilled Tooth's very soul right now was a single terrifying realization. 

_How_ **_much_ ** _does Pitch know?!_

"How did you enter his dreams?!" She says in a rush of cold fear, and too late she's come to realize Pitch noticed it as well. 

"Well, well, Tooth. Why do you sound so _surprised?_ It's there something I should know about? A reason why I should be _unable to play_ with our little hero's dreams?" 

She hates that Pitch knows how to play this game better than her. Hates the way he looks down at her with mockery and early triumph painted on his smirk. But overall, she hates the way his thumbs run circles over her shoulders. The way it shows his impatience and excitement at having found what he was looking for. 

She needs to think of something, now!

"He's the Hero of Hylia. I just thought he had to be immune to your tricks, that's all."

His smirk, instead of fading, increases even more. He _loves_ playing with her. His favorite prey to torment. 

"Oh! but he's not, dear. He's definitely not. But what can one expect from a cruel goddess, hmmm?" 

Tooth won't lie and admit she doesn't agree with Pitch on that one. 

"Back to the topic at hand though, why would he dream about you? Why are you his safety image from my nightmares and not one of his dead friends? 

She grows tense and quiet as understanding dawns on her with every word spoken. Pitch keeps talking, but her haunted amethyst eyes stare with horror past his face and past her halls. 

_Link did what?!_

"I'm talking to you! You glorified pillow stuffing!!" belows the monster before her when he tightens his hold enough to toss Toothiana to the side this time. He watches with cruel delight how she falls to her side over the rocky ground below them.

She cries out in surprise and hisses when she realises she fell on a bad position, and now her hip troubles her. Toothiana is sure of one thing though, he _will_ **_pay._**

Pitch is glaring daggers at her, and raises his hand in an abrupt violent gesture, ready to hurt her, it seems. But before doing anything reckless, he tights it into a fist and mentally counts to ten. 

He has to take back his control over both, his temper and the situation. 

"You know…" he breathes deep. In and out. In and out.

"... how my nightmares work, don't you, Tooth?" He manages to say without too much struggle once he's contained his rage successfully. He takes one hand made fist over his chest. The other he places behind his back, (made a fist as well) looking as regal and imposing as if he still played the part of **General.**

_No! These thoughts were dangerous. She has to block them, throw them away!_

Meanwhile Pitch waited for the answer to his casual question. One that he devised in a way for Tooth to give him (further on) the information that he seeks. Just what is she playing at with the hero of Hylia?

"Can't say I care enough to do it. No." she answers coldly and bitingly. She attempts to arrange her position on the floor so her hip does not strain by the weight she keeps putting on it.

He takes the comment in stride, though. knowing that getting worked up by every single derisive comment of hers will get them nowhere. And frankly, he was growing tired of this. Though he can still take satisfaction when he explains with the utmost detail what it is that he does to people. He knows someone like Tooth may come to… Ah, find it intriguing. For lack of a better word. 

"You see, Tooth. My minions feed from the fear of a nightmare. They crave it and are experts at making people afraid." The sheer joy she hears in his voice by recounting how he and his _things_ make people suffer, makes her want to throw a punch in his big stupid nose. 

"But, as expected from ravenous beings like them. They do a mediocre job compared to what **_I_ ** can do..." here he makes a dramatic pause, his eyes glint in the soft glow of the ember flames overhead. He calls forth the shadows he decides to bring with him today. His fearlings. And he silently commands them to dim the light of the room even more. For, well, impact.

"Me, though. I pull from my prey their worst fears. The horrors that lie dormant in their subconscious and memories that can only be awakened when unaware. Their minds are my instruments, Tooth. And I play with them whatever and however I desire."

He waits with a mocking smirk for her reaction. 

"Memories?!" She rushes in a gasp. And she has to berate herself for giving him the satisfaction of seeing her aghast. She knows that was what he wanted. 

Pitch can do little else but smile in dark enjoyment. He kind of likes the expressions she makes, especially when she's caught unaware. 

"Ah! A sore topic, perhaps? Well, be at ease my darling guardian. You shall know my skills are nothing like yours. I can't make them remember by my own hand, you see..." He sounds condescending. Like speaking to a kid rather than his life-long enemy; but Tooth knows what he's doing. Belittling her and her intelligence; her importance and her strength. Another way to make her feel inferior.

"First, I have to know the memory is there for me to simply sense the potential to draw fear from it. Then, I pull that string into my nightmarish song, making a beautiful dreamscape filled with terror and darkness!"

Pitch likes to talk with his hands when he is deeply invested in what he's saying. And there's nothing that gives him more raw twisted joy than his own evil job of creating nightmares. His eyes shine and his sharp teeth show a smile that reflects his pride on his craft of choice. His eyes go wide with excitement and passion, not seeing Tooth nor her halls anymore, no. His sight is lost, well beyond Tooth's reach. 

His smile is so awfully wide that all Tooth waits for him to throw a mad laugh up into the air and cackle like the looney he is. Though he never does (small mercies). Despite this, Tooth knows better than to roll her eyes and mock him for his antics. He said something important after all, and it has to do with her field of expertise. 

He _worked_ his nightmares out of people's _memories._ Somehow, that made Tooth's blood boil faster than all the injuries he provoked her during this visit of his. 

Using such personal and intimate moments as a weapon against one-self? Why, he surely didn’t own an ounce of compassion. 

Tooth is always on the right whenever he’s called him a monster.

"But that hylian hero, though..." he continues speaking, a hand slowly coming to rest below his chin deep in thought. What he says makes Tooth pay attention again.

He’s talking about Link, after all.

"Why, his strings were frayed, some even broken and useless." he wondered out loud, his gaze did not turn to her at any moment. 

"Quite as if… No, that would be almost impossible. Nothing but a terrible joke from Hylia herself!" And Pitch has to chuckle at the memory of the boy's mind looking like a broken mirror when he played with him last night. It isn't real, right? Why would his mind be so… fragmented? 

Could it be a trick crafted by Hylia herself? So, Pitch could not give him effective nightmares? Hylia most likely wanted her hero protected from the likes of Pitch as Tooth said before, right? but could it be that what he saw was no trick? That the hero's mind was truly gone? 

He had wanted to bring despair and horror to the boy by bringing Link the image of his friends in a cruel pretension of how each of them had died. But nothing came from Link's mind that contained that spark of fear. Nothing he pulled forth had their faces; nor their voices or anything he had expected to find and exploit from years past. Quite as if...

Pitch's eyes shine with recognition and realization which Tooth finds worrying. Because it seems he now knows something of importance that he can use against her (against Link!) It's never good when Pitch finds his footing in an argument; when he comes with a new way to win the upper hand.

His stupid laugh is even more disgusting than his own pointy and rotten teeth.

"Oh! That's just grand! It's Hylia's little hero suffering from memory loss?" He mocks with a sickeningly sweet and false voice.

That must be it, though. It's the only sensible explanation to what he had found (better said hadn’t) inside the boy's subconscious. 

"And, wait, wait! Don't tell me..." He announces, coming back to the fact he has company beside himself (Tooth was doing fine without him talking to her directly, really).

Pitch turns where Toothiana has now managed to incorporate her aching body to a standing position. Slightly bending on the middle and breathing harshly. She used the wall as a support and actually huffs in exhaustion. 

He points a long accusing finger in front of her face. 

"He must have asked you to help him recover his lost memories, didn't he?" Pitch smirks widely, oddly pleased with himself for having resolved the puzzle by his own means. 

Did Toothiana agree to help Link recover his memories? Ha! How sweet~ though useless. He won't be getting anything back going this way about it. Pitch had destroyed the teeth **_years_ ** ago. And there was nothing, **nothing** in Tooth's nonexistent power that could bring the hero's memories back! 

"That's not how things…!" she tried to deny what he said (what he has correctly guessed.) But before she can attempt to fool him, he glares and shrugs her explanations like one does to dust in front of their face.

"Oh! Knock it off, you peacock. Of course that's how things are. His mind is a mess, and he hopes you can help him recover what he's lost, doesn't he? The poor fool." At least that explained why Toothiana would be so dear to Link in present times as to have appeared inside Link's Nightmare. Link despaired because of his condition. And Tooth represented the hope that such ailment would come to an end, and that she would fix him up for good. 

How _sad_ little Tooth had no teeth to work with anymore~. 

Unless…

His eyes grow dark, all of a sudden, and his face is once more upon Toothiana's struggling figure. She is precariously grasping the wall beside her with one hand for balance as he looks her up and down, a scowl now once again on his face. 

His fearlings and shadows sense the mood change of his master, and press even tighter on them both. Nearly extinguishing all light in the room. 

"Because you surely can't help him. Right, Toothiana?" 

She adverts her eyes quickly. Knowing that if she looks at him right in the eye, she could fail and betray her fear of him finding out that there is indeed a way for that to happen. For Tooth to recover Link's memories despite the lack of baby teeth. 

She had to keep that a secret from Pitch, she had to control her emotions better! Ignore his attempts to scare her into submission! 

Get a grip Tooth! 

"No, Pitch. You know I can't." She settles for answering, as calm and collected as she can, but laced deeply with anxiety and doubt. 

"Yes. And it better **stays** that way."

Is what she hears him say before his loyal fearlings (those awfully horrendous creatures he always seems to carry with him whenever he is) dissipate their obscure mass a tad, and Tooth can feel breathing now comes easier for her. 

"I'll take my leave from you now. And don't bother accompanying me. I know the way out."

He says while waving a dismissive hand in the air. His eyes bear a boredom Toothiana is sure was always beneath his theatrical façade. If Pitch is anything beyond his dramatic demeanor and his love for control. He's, for sure, a psychopath.

He walks away with his hands clasped tight behind his back (again, a gesture planned and displayed just for show.) He is pensive however, and then he stops and turns his head back to Toothiana. His gaze is cold and menacing, quite like a viper's. 

"Oh. And, Tooth?" 

She doesn't even spare him a single glance. 

"Don't you _dare_ try anything _funny."_

The ' _because I'll know'_ was left unsaid, even when Tooth herself swore she heard him say it. Maybe she managed to guess right as he had done with her and Link's agreement. She knew Pitch well enough to know how he thought, even if she hated that fact about herself. 

Despite everything. Tooth and Pitch were tied to each other by fate. 

*+*+*+*+*

"Link, is everything alright?" he looks up from where Prince Sidon is waiting expectantly. The worry in his eyes is unusual (though Link supposes he doesn't know the prince well enough to judge that). 

Come to think of it. Sidon's entire demeanor was odd from the moment Link finally came out of the shrine in Zora's domain. It looked as if a great weight had been lifted from the prince's shoulders, a great burden. And Link feels worse than before now that he knows how terrified Sidon and his people must have been when their only available help was gone. 

And Link left without telling anyone about his plans on top of that! He should have thought that one better. 

Link looks up from where his eyes are trained on the horizon. (Strangely gazing in the direction where a certain known spring lies within the confines of Faron jungle.) He shakes his head clean of whatever had come over him. A deep mortification, a constricting feeling in his heart. Though he ignores what it may mean. 

Instead of pondering about it any longer, he nods with a determined frown at Sidon, whose beaming smile does well to lift Link's own spirits. He replies how marvelous that is, and hurries them both towards the mission at hand. Vah Ruta has been allowed to wreak havoc in Zora's domain no more.

Following Sidon all the way to the reservoir, though. Link can't help the frown that overtakes his features. And maybe it's the nostalgic tint of dawn upon his back mixed up with the clouds and rain. Maybe it's the solemn song of the breeze here amidst the mountains, but…

He stops following the prince. Who talks and gestures away his joy of finally providing his people with their much needed respite from the rain. Link does not listen though, he looks over his shoulder. Back at the faraway jungles, and his heart aches. 

Maybe he could arrange a quick visit to Punjam Hy Loo once he's done. Just to assure himself nothing's wrong over there. But… No, Tooth is safe in her abode. The entire place is sealed off and she seems to be able to keep things under control. He imagines how terrible she must feel with all that's happened. The least she needs is Link doubting her and her skills.

Besides… 

He looks down at his chest where a given dreamcatcher should be, and he despairs. No, he can't go back until he's got it fixed. He can't give Tooth yet another reason to bear sorrow in her gaze.

Sidon notices he's lagging behind, and a thread of doubts pulls from his mind and makes him frown and nearly panic. 

_No, he came back in the end. He will help us, he won't leave us. Link is not like that._

He ignores the voice that says he doesn't know the hero that well. 

"Link!" He calls out. And the boy turns his head towards his royal companion and nods silently as he prefers as a way of response. He catches up to Sidon, and together, they mentally prepare for the challenge that awaits them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Can't believe I just finished reading the "guardians of childhood" books. (I had stopped midway through Sandy's. Don't judge me). And then, all I can say is…
> 
> Man Pitch was… Cruel.
> 
> He was certainly different from movie Pitch. In the movie he's charismatic, charming and he even likes to tease his foes in a theatrical way (the same thing I try to do here as you can see.) Though book Pitch is: "more actions, less words" kind of villain. You look at him the wrong way? Well… you dead. 
> 
> But since Ganon is the greater evil here. And Pitch will be pestering Link and Tooth from now on. He needs to be a dynamic villain, mock and laugh and be expressive in his 'evilness' for the sake of entertainment, damn it! (That's why, movie Pitch wins this round). 
> 
> Also, I can't help but notice how OP the Guardians are in the books. Like, hello? I know that the good guys have to triumph and all that, but man! There's no way I can believe Pitch is a menace to these people. Like, They get armies and help from virtually anywhere! And they get solutions to every problem instantly!
> 
> Nuh uh, honey. Sorry, but I plan to take things down a notch in this fic. Thank you very much.


	12. The Lady of the White Pearls.

The fight against Ruta is finally done, in all honesty. Link doesn’t know how to feel.

He lets the breeze caress his face softly as dawn breaks over Zora’s domain in the horizon. He’s still at the reservoir, where Mipha had taken him after they both had parted ways.

Knowing about her brutal death hurts him deep in his heart, like no other thing had up until now. But he won’t lie to himself and say he didn’t expect this to be the outcome. The thing is, that he had (perhaps) held the same silly little hope that Sidon and his people had. That Mipha could have, by some chance (no matter how slim or improbable.) Survived the massacre that occurred inside Ruta one hundred years ago.

It’s a hard truth to realize such it’s not the case.

The young man takes a deep breath and lets the afternoon wind play with his hair and clothes. They are still wet from his fight against the blight, so he feels rather chilly. The heaviness that lurks inside his chest makes it easier to focus on more pressing worries.

Namely Mipha. For whom he sheds tears upon tears, despite not knowing much about her. A soft, barely there kind-of-voice, tells Link Mipha was beloved by him. But that offers him no comfort whatsoever. 

Mipha had meant so much for Link. So much, in fact. That the biggest and most bitter of tears come from the fact he despises not remembering anything about her. 

She was kind, gentle and soft-spoken. That he can gauge by pure instinct and the memory he uncovered last time, but it tells him nothing of importance.

Just who was Mipha to Link? Were they best friends? Were they close? Since when? How did they meet each other? What things did she enjoy doing with him? How did her laugh sound? What were her favorite foods, her dreams, her hopes for the future?! 

Though the thing that plagues him the most, more than even those thoughts, is…

Did she call out for Link to come and save her when the blight attacked?

In doing so? Was she disappointed he had failed to come and rescue her?

The pain of his guilt is worse than anything he’s felt before, he’s sure. And, despite Link tries to tell himself none of this is entirely his fault, he bitterly knows that's a lie. 

He presses his palms against his closed eyes. And Link thinks to himself on how he doesn't want to do any of this anymore. But yet again, the people of Hyrule need him, Zelda **needs** him. And now the deceased champions need him as well. So he can avenge their deaths. Besides, Sidon is waiting for him back at the domain, eager to receive any kind of news from his trek inside Vah Ruta. 

And Link curses under his breath while he dries his tears and takes a deep steadying breath. He's about to crush Sidon's hopes to dust; about to break his heart. 

*+*+*+*+*

Despite the grim news. Link is surprised to find that not Sidon, nor the king, blame him for what happened with their daughter and sister. They sadly had prepared for such an outcome already. And all they could do when told. It's to bow their heads and hide their sorrowful expressions from their people.

Mipha wouldn't have wanted anyone feeling sad because of her after all. Especially not her baby brother and her beloved father. At least they could rest assured. Knowing her terrible death had been avenged by the only person that King Dorephan knows Mipha would have wanted to fight for her. 

Her beloved Link. 

The domain had prepared a most gracious celebration in advance for Link's success. From the moment they noticed the rain stopping completely, the chorus of "Yeah's!" And "Oh's!" And even the mighty battle cries of "ZO-ZO RA-RA!" Reverberated through the entire domain when it happened. And it was a comunal agreement to properly welcome Link when he was back. 

Link had to admit the speed at which things unfolded scared him a bit. But he also wholeheartedly believed their merriment was indeed, a breath of fresh air. 

He sees young Zora running and playing around the streets. He manages to spy a small group playing tag by the feet of Mipha's statue. And he smiles softly at the sight while he basks in the joy these people feel all around him. 

What Link gauges to be some sort of popular adult drink is being shared by Zora knights nearby. Songs are being sung and life is better and well for the Zora. Who only yesterday, believed their beloved home would be destroyed. 

Their Hylian savior still worries though, and his mind can't fully agree with the party going on in his name. They shouldn't be celebrating the fool that made all of their sorrows and tragedies possible, after all. 

The night goes on despite the Hylian's conflicting thoughts. And, by the time the feast rolls around, he has to admit some of the bitterness he feels melts away. He still feels undeserving, for sure. But food is food. And he would **never** dare reject a good meal. 

Link sat among the Zora knights who claimed to know him from before the calamity, though, despite their familiarity with the hero. None of them spoke of things that he _should_ remember. They stayed in the here and now, being overall pleasant company and singing not only songs but praises to Link as well. 

He blushed from time to time, though he wanted to mask it saying it was their fairly strong drinks. His comrades laughed it off though - knowing he was lying - and continued to pester him for the rest of the night. The knights were glad to be in a festive mood, and glad to have been given permission to enjoy it. Even if only briefly, for they had to return soon to their own jobs protecting the domain. 

Link admired their professionalism, since they rejected drinking more than necessary. So they didn't end up drunk and swaying. 

"Doesn't make for a good guard image, eh?" Said Bazz, who joined his glass in a toast with Rivan, who agreed with his captain's words. Rivan, however, was promptly chastised by his own daughter Dunma.

Link laughed at their antics. And in no time all of his worries ebbed away, as if they had been taken along the current of the river below and left him behind. Forever at ease from their burden. 

His peace of mind didn't last long, however. As he spied by the corner of his eye how Sidon was laughing one second and taking a hand to his mouth in alarm written plainly on his face the next. The surrounding members of his fan club gasped and asked if everything was alright. And Sidon - ever the gentleman - Dispelled their worries with a practiced smile and polite words.

The girls didn't stop looking worried, but at least they didn't cause a scene as Sidon probably feared. 

Link, however. Could not overlook such a detail, and his concern for the prince made him nod at his present company and excuse himself for the rest of the night. Planning on following Sidon and seeing what was bothering him. The knights took that as their cue to get up as well and get back to their designated posts for the night. Since it was indeed getting late.

Before Link could completely leave, however, he was stopped by the touch of an arm on his shoulder. He turned around only to notice it was Bazz. 

"Link, I know where you're going. Please, help his majesty. He's been acting strange for the last couple of days. And everyone is worried about him. Please let me know if something’s wrong, alright? Promise me you will."

Link set his brow in a frown, estranged to know such a thing wasn't new, and that the prince was _sure_ acting out of his usual self. He had suspected such a thing. But dismissed it thinking he probably was overreacting. However, confirmation from someone like Bazz was all he needed to nod in determination and promise Bazz he’ll be back with news about the Prince's wellbeing. Then, he scurried off to follow Sidon. 

Silently, Bazz wished him good luck. 

*+*+*+*+*

Pitch is furious. 

No. Beyond that. _He's livid._

Toothiana and that little good for nothing amnesiac hero are up to something, and he knows it very well. The question here is, what is it that they are trying to do? Why would Link need that useless woman aside his memories? 

He knew Tooth well enough to gauge she offered something else. Some kind of aid that Pitch needs to uncover **now** sans it costs Ganon his victory and Pitch his privileges. 

However. Before he can ponder even more on what they may be plotting together. His fearlings come from seemingly thin air with pressing bad news for their master. 

"What?!" exclaims Pitch, His voice is laced with anger and disbelief at what he's just being told by his minions. Something that must definitely **be** a lie, a mistake!

for their own good, it better be a mistake! 

"He can't have reclaimed that stupid divine beast already!" Hisses back at his already retreating minions. If there is something fearlings' fear, it is the mood swings of their master. 

Pitch takes a hand below his chin and taps it with his index finger. Deeply focused on the news he's received and what he knows of the hero and of that divine beast. By all accounts, the boy should have struggled more to both board and clear it of malice. How come it just took him a few hours? 

"Did you try to impede his advances?" making a pause, he admonishes. “At _all?_ ” 

The fearlings do as if they look at each other in uncertainty, then they sway in the air as if shaking their heads no. 

Incompetent maggots!

If Pitch didn't still need them for his own plans, he would have disposed of them all with his scythe right now.

"How could you let him claim back that thing! You were supposed to…!"

_~surveil, report, observe~_

Their voices caress Pitch's mind like wisps of wind, and he can do naught but recoil in disgust and annoyance. Yes, he did give those orders, didn't he? But surely his minions are not that dense as to not know what to do with an enemy like that nearby! 

In their defense. Back when he had given the order, neither Pitch, nor his minions, considered the boy a real menace. Perhaps an inconvenience at best. But not a real threat. Because Pitch had assured himself that at that point, the boy would be too mentally scarred by his nightmares to properly get into any action. 

Alas, he was wrong, and in sight of the new nuisance that Link’s little alliance with Tooth presents. He must change his carefully crafted plan of subtle manipulation through nightmares. For something more... _aggressive_. 

He must continue working the hero's mind further if he intends to break him. And Toothiana may not be a problem right now, but it's her knowledge what worries Pitch the most. He won't underestimate Toothiana as he did last time with that meddlesome Rito. Because she had surely proved she could secure victory even with just a simple mortal as her only source of aid. 

He draws a deep breath and glares at the ever darkening horizon. Much to his frustration, he knows all he can do against the hero is to incapacitate him, and nothing else. For Ganon had requested the hero's life be his to take and devour.

Pitch had no problem with that. Though letting the kid live long enough for a rencounter with the Calamity seemed like a bad idea from anywhere you tried to look at it. That's why Pitch had to make sure Link didn't get strong enough to be an issue for the great Calamity. Keep him weak and unable to fight back. So, instead of a battle against Ganon, the kid would end up going to his own public execution instead. 

The mere idea sent shivers down his spine in raw delight. Oh~ the perfect ending for a perfect fool!

The moon shines brightly above his head, and Pitch smirks. Good thing he's finished planning just as the peak of nighttime rolls around. Midnight is just close to striking the clock, and by that time, everyone in Hyrule is usually mostly asleep. That means that he can start pulling his machinations into motion right away. And that is certainly something that makes his smirk widen in cruel and cold glee. 

_"So, dear Tooth and Link want to plot against us in secrecy, hmmm?"_ muses Pitch darkly, zooming his attention towards Zora's domain on the horizon. 

_"Then let's join them in their game, shall we?"_

That night an order is given, and his nightmares, fearlings and shadow men - those still available at the moment - display themselves through all of Hyrule with the sole intention of infecting every vulnerable mind they can find. 

Pitch's laugh is maniacal and loud. He delights just by thinking how Link will be affected by the aftermath. How everyone in Hyrule will grow to collectively fear the hero of Hylia! But alas. He can't be everywhere at the same time. No. For now, he will remain by the sidelines. Vigilant, attentive of any and all moves on the hero’s journey. 

_Oh! What fun we are going to have, hero~._

*+*+*+*+*

Link found Sidon standing in the usual spot where Link always found him whenever he was in the domain. Even his posture was the same. Hands clasped behind his back looking forward towards the jet black horizon. 

Link approached slowly and carefully. Not wanting to intrude in what is perhaps a private moment. Sidon still had to properly mourn his sister after all. And Link understood if he needed the space. 

However. Sidon heard him approaching. And the prince turned his head ever so slightly to check on who was intruding upon him. When he saw who it was that had come to look for him, he smiled.

"Hello, friend." Greeted Sidon. Though not with the enthusiastic tone that always accompanied his rich smooth voice. He sounded content nonetheless, though less his upbeat and boisterous self. 

Link approached when Sidon waved softly at him to do so. And now they both stood side by side looking towards the rocky cliffs and luminous stones in the horizon. Link spied by the corner of his eye the expression his companion was making. Despite what he and Bazz might have thought. Sidon was smiling softly and fondly at the sights before them. As if he had no cares in the world. 

"It's beautiful. Isn't it, Link?" 

Deciding to let Sidon do the talking, Link merely nodded and shared a smile of his own. Hoping that could help make Sidon feel comfortable. 

To be honest, Link felt completely awkward. Moreso knowing that Mipha's statue stood so close to them. 

"Mipha loved watching the sights from this platform back when I was a kid. She would bring me here and point at different things. Say how all that we saw was ours to protect and ours to care for."

Sidon's smile turned sour. 

"Especially our people." He took a deep steadying breath. 

"She was so happy when she became a champion. Because she could help others beyond our reach and make a difference. Help our people in a different way." He let out that last breath and looked directly at Link, his eyes were sad. But he was smiling. 

_Just Like Tooth._ His mind supplied. 

"I was happy as well, because when Mipha smiled, it lightened up an entire room. And she was smiling all the time because she got to spend time with…" at this, the prince suddenly stopped talking and pretended he had to clear his throat. After that embarrassing moment was over, however, he grew silent for a while. 

"I can't believe she's truly gone."

Link showed his own sadness over the matter on his face, letting Sidon know he wasn't alone in his heartbreak. That they both could share the sorrow of losing someone as precious as Mipha.

Something Link loved about the Zora people, was that most of them knew hand signs. So, Link had no problem talking this way. 

_"That's why you left the party."_ It was not a question, but a statement. Sidon looked at him in confusion and then smiled. 

"No. Certainly not, my friend!" And cheery upbeat Sidon was back with him again. It baffled Link how surprisingly fast the change took place. But he supposed Sidon was not someone who could stay down for long. 

"Here. Look!" Sidon placed one of his hands palm up before Link, and there was something there. A triangular shape that looked sharp and shone lightly against the pale moonlight. 

He looked back at Sidon with a lost look on his face and threw a guess.

_"An arrowhead?"_

The Prince lips pulled up in a mischievous bright smirk. 

"No, my friend. It is a Tooth."

 _A Tooth! Why, It looked like a tiny lance tip!_

"I lost this tooth earlier while talking with my female companions. Something I consumed at dinner perhaps loosened it, not unusual for someone my age. We Zora keep losing teeth all the time, and new ones grow after them no problem." 

Explained Sidon while he brought forth his other hand for Link to examine as well. There, he saw a small bag (perhaps a pouch?) made of what looked to be a soft red material and had a fading drawing of what seemed to be a Zora tooth on the front. 

"Do you know what this is, Link?" 

Link shook his head. Couldn't say he had ever seen something like it. 

"This is called a _little sack of pearls_ by my people." he announced, opening the shiny piece of thread that kept the little bag (no, the sack) closed. 

"Mipha made it for me when I was little and I had lost my very first baby tooth. We Zora lose them so frequently that from all the races of Hyrule, I'm sure we lose them earlier than any!" He explained with humor as he finally opened it. Then, he carefully placed his recently lost tooth inside, a placid smile on his face.

"Tradition goes that children must place their fallen teeth inside the sack. Then they tie it by its thread to a rock or branch nearby the pool where they sleep. Maybe even their neck if it doesn't bother them." He ties off the small sack in demonstration and offers it to Link for him to inspect closely. The young man nods and reaches for the soft bag. Feeling how smooth the fabric really is. 

He secretly spies Sidon looking at him with a fond smile on his face. Perhaps relieving a fond memory from his childhood.

"The sack would then float gently above water. And the _Lady of the White Pearls_ would later come for the teeth and leave children rupees in their stead."

At that Link pauses, and his face shows both shock and recognition. He knows (without having been told) who this _Lady of the White Pearls_ is. Why, he's even met her!

 _"He's talking about Toothiana!"_ He thinks in awe. And it's the first time he's heard anyone mention her or her job at all in Hyrule. He must admit he's quite excited at the prospect of knowing more about her. 

"Mipha and I would be so excited whenever I lost a tooth. Me, because I got rupees. Her, because she saw me happy and smiling all the time."

Sidon gets the sack back from Link and he cradles it gently in one hand against his chest. His sight is once more ahead of him, lost on the horizon.

"The tradition may be lost now. As many things that got lost or buried after the calamity." Continues Sidon with a tinge of bitterness. The cold breeze of the night jostling his fins and making the jewelry he uses on his body break the silent pause he created. 

"The Lady stopped coming for the teeth out of nowhere. And it’s common belief whoever she was. Was killed during the Calamity.” Link can see how exhausted, how pained and tired of everything that’s happened too far Sidon really is. The Lady’s custom is obviously one he enjoyed, and he (and the other children) had been robbed of that. Of such innocence, such wonder. 

And Sidon is wrong. **So** wrong that Link wants to tell him. Tell him that the Lady exists. That she is still alive and is friends with Link. 

But, will that really help any? It’s not like Tooth collects teeth anymore, nor like she will resume her old job any time soon. Besides, Sidon may miss these moments of his childhood. But it's not for the reward Tooth left behind for him to unveil. 

"Regardless, I like remembering those simple times. And anytime I happen to lose a new tooth… well." Sidon takes a deep breath, his grip on the small bag tightening with barely contained tears.

"I tie it to the perch we installed in my room when I was little. And somehow expect that the next day I… that Mipha." His throat closes, and the prince can talk no more. He remembers how he would wake up, find the ruppes and run towards Mipha to tell her. He would be showered with congratulations and hugs and kisses from her and get to hear her laugh, see her smile. Hear her say over and over how happy she was for him.

How much she loved him. Her _dear baby brother._

His eyes close then - unable to continue with his words - and sighs deep and full of sorrow into the night's chilly air. All Sidon does afterwards. Is feeling how the breeze plays with his fins, tossing them gently where it pleases. 

Out of respect, the Hylian looks away and lets the prince regain his composure. Sidon's just come to terms that his sister will never come back home, after all. That the tiny hope he held all these years was for nothing. 

Link gulps down the knot he feels forming in his own throat. He does not want to break in front of Sidon. Not when he knows the explanation for such a display would be the guilt he feels for everything that happened. And Sidon has yet to mention he blames Link for anything. 

Time is spent in that fashion, neither saying a thing for fear of intruding on each other's privacy. Especially Link, who expects Sidon to dismiss him any minute now. But the request never comes. Instead, he hears Sidon mutter something to himself in a low thread of voice. He seems confused. 

After a while, Sidon gently taps Link's shoulder and points towards the sky.

"Look, Link!" 

And in time the young man notices how a tiny speck of light crosses the sky at astounding speed. Right in front of them but far, far away from their location. Up in the vastness of the night. 

Sidon is all smiles again as he asks Link. 

"Did you make a wish?" 

Link can only stare blankly back. 

Sidon (thankfully all traces of his sorrow gone for the moment.) Looks at Link and admits in a flabbergasted way. 

"Don't you know about wishing upon a shooting star?" his eyes are so wide in disbelief Link feels the need to tease him about it. Because Sidon looks so much like a kid in his puzzlement. But, in light of recent events, Link decides to let his need to poke fun at Sidon slide (at least this one time). 

"Well…" Starts the Zora prince, a bit more composed. "It's believed that if you see a shooting star, you definitely _should_ make a wish. For the shooting star will make it come true." 

For the second time that day, Link sees the signs of embarrassment color his friend. And the big Zora prince takes his hand and scratches his left cheek in shame. His eyes averted elsewhere. 

"Or, well. That's what people say at least." blurting out a small laugh and a tired smile, Sidon returns his attention to Link.

"You must believe I'm nothing but a child for knowing these things." grumbles Sidon in shame, and Link can do little else but laugh and pat his arm in a sign of camaraderie. 

_"That's fine"_ Signs the hero. _"I like them too. Tell me more, please?”_

Even in signs, Link is a man of few words. And Sidon is all eager to show his enthusiasm at the offer with that bright smile of his and a fist pump to the air. Link silently thanks the change in conversation. If he can offer Sidon respite from his pain, no matter how brief. He will.

The prince agrees to tell Link more about the things he knows and loves. And one of such things happens to be tales.

There’s the Lady of the White Pearls, shooting stars’ wishes, the peninsula that makes you fall asleep when you step on its sands. And many, many more stories that - Link must admit - Leave him speechless for how truly grand is Sidon's knowledge of them. How many he knows by heart.

Sidon, however. Offered Link the chance to exchange one of his own stories. Noticing he had monopolized the conversation for way too long. And the prince marveled at Link's own adventurous tales about his travels through Hyrule. Mainly the ones where he recounted his days of travel to Impa's home in Kakariko village and his meeting with the great fairy Cotera. 

Sidon, with some childish abandon, expressed he would love to meet a great fairy one day. And much to Link's horror. He noticed that every word he had used to describe how awkward of an experience the whole ordeal was. Did not deter Sidon's conviction at all. 

That sort of foolish bravery he could admire. 

When they both finally grew short on things to say, it was only to notice the sky change to the soothing colors of dawn. Link grimaced and apologized to Sidon. 

_"Sorry, I kept you up all night."_

Sidon shook his head and fixed his gaze once more towards the sky. 

"It's no problem at all, good friend. Please don't worry on my behalf." Though Link knew there was more than he was letting on, so he pushed Sidon to tell him about it. 

_"You look troubled. Is something wrong?"_

Link noticed Sidon tensed and his eyes looked haunted. They were quickly darting back up towards the firmament. Seemingly thinking things through before he decided to fix his gaze on Link once more. He gulped down a knot in his throat.

"Link. May I make a most troublesome confession, expecting your discretion?" 

Baffled, Link nodded.

"I…" He gulped once more, and Link noticed he had started to shake. 

"I had a most horrifying nightmare a few nights ago, Link. And it's mainly the reason why I let you keep me up tonight; and also why I have had trouble sleeping ever since." He paused, gauging his companion's attention and facial expression. Maybe he expected Link not to take his worries seriously. But, once he deemed it safe and that Link would not brush his concerns off, he proceeded. 

"There I heard a voice. A mysterious voice telling me you wouldn't come back to help us. And even if I had faith in you. Well…" he breathed in, waiting for Link to interrupt him, laugh, or simply dismiss his dream. But he didn't. In fact, Link looked as horrified as Sidon had been when he had woken up that night. 

"You didn't show up in the end and Ruta destroyed everything and everyone in the domain. I'm glad to know my terrible dreams were not prophetic in nature though." here Sidon let out a humorless laugh. "But I must say it did leave me worried ever since. Worried enough to neglect sleeping in fear of living through that once more. That is, until you appeared yesterday."

"What are your thoughts on it, Link? Was I right on worrying over a mere bad dream? Maybe it's true I'm still quite a child." 

But to Sidon's surprise, Link wasn't laughing or shrugging his concerns off as he had feared. Instead, he looked at Link's face and saw horror painted there. Shock and surprise, all in one. Sidon grew considerably concerned. 

What Sidon didn't know was that Link had had a nightmare as well. One where he didn't save the domain and everyone died at the hands of Lynels. One where Sidon reproached Link for refusing to help. 

One where a voice told Link he would fail in saving everyone no matter what. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously like Sidon a lot, and I genuinely think he still has that childish wonder for the stories and legends from his childhood. He's an adult though, so he may not believe in them anymore, but he surely likes them and likes sharing and knowing new ones. 
> 
> Tell your Zora prince a story everyone. 


End file.
